Recovering Time
by Zaraen
Summary: It was just him and Aizen. Was there anything left for to fight for? Everyone had fallen, killed right in front of him. However, in the midst of battle Ichigo is given another chance, but was Aizens plan as simple as it seemed?...Time Travel
1. Is There Reason?

I own none of the rights to bleach, those go to Tite Kubo

This is my kinda second fic. The firsts probably almost finished.

Summary:

They all died. The only people he had left to save now were those who'd probably never know it was him. They wouldn't remember the event anyway and all he wanted to do was forget. The battle with Aizen, what if something went wrong.

Is There Reason?

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><p>They were stood above a huge crater, Aizen and Ichigo. Dust blew around them as it recoiled from the latest attack. Azien had become what looked like a hollow that had multiple white wings, head were on the ends of each wing their white faces all blank except for the hollow teeth that were clamped shut.<p>

It was the end and Ichigo knew it, but what was the point in him fighting anymore? Everyone Ichigo cared about had died, either killed by Aizen or his Arrancar. Chad, Renji and Rukia had been taken down by Rudbornn Chelute. The other captains he didn't know about but many of them had been injured so servilely Ichigo was unsure they were still alive. Urahara, Yoruichi and his father had been by Aizen himself but not before Isshin had taught Ichigo the Final Gestugatensho. Aizen had also killed off his sisters and his school friend's right before Ichigo had arrived, he'd been too late to save them too. And finally there was Ishida and Orihime. It had been his entire fault. He had lost control and it had cost him. He'd gone to Hueco Mundo to save Orihime, not kill her and then Ishida who had gone along with him had also perished at his hand. He'd woken up to see his sword implanted in Ishidas chest and Orihime laying on the floor, her neck broken as blood spilled out the back of her head. Those images would haunt Ichigo for the rest of his life. No matter where he went or how much he tried to forget, he would always remember their broken bodies as they lay lifeless under the cold everlasting night of Hueco Mundo. Ulquiorra had been the one to prevent his rampage but snapping off one of the horns from his hollow mask. He too then began to disappear but not before some parting words that still rang in Ichiogs even now,

"_I was beginning to understand what the woman meant by a heart. It's a shame her life was ended by the one she seemed to love, how tragic. You should go trash, it is pointless in staying here as you have already defeated me. Maybe if you're quick enough you can save the rest of your friends even if it's only prolonging the inevitable. Aizen-sama will dispose of you all in the end." _

But he hadn't been able to save any of them. The only people he could save now would be strangers, people he never knew. Only a few of them would remember him, in the future they might have seen him as the Lone Hero of Katakura town. But Ichigo would never know as events were changing.

No tears fell from Ichigos eyes as he remembered the time he'd had with those he cared for. The only emotion was rage that burned through his usually caring eyes while he glared at Aizen with an unwavering hate.

"Let's end this already, Aizen." Ichigo sighed, as he decided that the time to finish this was now. Brining his zanpakuto in front of him Ichigo spoke again, "I've grown sick… of your arguments."

His head bowed with his lengthened orange hair falling over his eyes, Ichigo swung Zangetsu to his left as he brought it round his head and in front of him. His burnt looking left hand supporting the right just where the chain started he began to end what had been going on for too long.

"This is the Final Gestugatensho!"

Black and blue reiatsu surrounded Ichigo as it shot up into the sky creating a giant luminous column of pure reiatsu. Aizen stood in front of the column of Ichigos reiatsu in shock, he had felt nothing from the boy who had discarded his reiatsu so how was he able to create such a huge amount?

"What is…" Aizen trailed off as he could see a silhouette inside the tower who looked nothing like Kurosaki Ichigo, "that form?"

The reiatsu started to disperse in crude giant black ripples leaving a platform underneath the new form. With a huge force the platform of reiatsu blasted towards Aizen who quickly shielded himself from the onslaught. He stared in aware as the figure before him stood shrouded in black reiatsu with long jet black hair and grey bandages that covered his chest and right arm.

"The Final Getsugatensho is me becoming Getsuga itself." The figure called his red eyes visible as he lifted he head to take on Aizen, "The Final Getsugatensho, if I use this technique then I lose all of my soul reaper powers. That is what 'Final' means."

Aizen couldn't grasp what had happened, he still couldn't sense the boy's spiritual pressure and he had evolved into a being far beyond that of soul reapers. And because of that no soul reaper or hollow could detect his power unless he brought it down to their awareness. The unwanted realisation hit Aizen that this boy could be on a higher level than himself.

"Absurd!" Aizen yelled his black hollow-like face twisting into anger, "that couldn't possibly be! A mere human cannot surpass me! That can't be!"

Ichigo held out his right hand as some of the black reiatsu transformed into a thin black blade like that of his bankai.

"Mugetsu." Was all Ichigo said before blackness overcame everything and his sliced towards Aizen, in doing so he connected with the Hōgyoku that was placed in Aizens chest. His thoughts at that precise moment were that he wished to go back and prevent this from happening. To go back with the strength he had now and defeat Aizen before he could kill all those that Ichigo loved. The Hōgyoku who had now disregarded Aizen as its master and chose Ichigo as it new one, decided made this impossible desire come true. As it left Aizen and integrated itself into Ichigo the giving of Ichigos desire started as time started reversing.

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><p>While this all happened Ichigo was sat back in his inner world which was currently being restored to its skyscraper glory. He hollow and Tensa Zangetsu were just as he'd left them after learning the Final Getsugatensho. But instead of standing on a submerged building they had taken to a restored skyscraper and watched as something dashed around in the distance restoring the place. Ichigo went up to join them expecting to yell at him for using Mugetsu, instead they just smiled at him and indicated for him to stand between them.<p>

"Do you guys know what's going on?" Ichigo asked.

"**Well kingy, someone seems to be restoring the place if ya hadn't noticed." **The hollow being no help pointed out, as it threw its horned mask in the air and caught it.

"I believe that the Hōgyoku has decided to take up residence." Tensa said as he reached round and smacked the hollow for being unhelpful.

"What? The Hōgyoku is in here? Why?" questions poured out his mouth and more would have had Tensa not held his hand up in silence.

"Let me explain as much as I can Ichigo. When you took the final strike at Sōsuke Aizen the Hōgyoku realised you were more powerful than its master. Because of that it wanted to join you and leave its master. The only reason this happened was because you touched it while desiring to go back and stop everything as you are now. Using that the Hōgyoku forced its way into here and started reversing time so you could achieve your desire and that has now left you permanently in Mugestu form." Tensa finished just as the hollow decided to add more.

"**So kingy ya've one more chance to save all those humans you love. How nice. You can still use my power even you Mugestu, just to let ya know." **

"So how long until it's done?"

"_**Not long I shall be finished soon, you have a minute to converse with the others and then the fun shall begin."**_ A childlike voice echoed across his mind-scape, while Ichigo was left confused the other two spirits seemed to become annoyed with the new addition.

"We do not need a child like you here, leave us!" Tensa yelled back to the voice.

"_**Now that wasn't nice, I only want to make the master happy."**_ The voice appeared behind Ichigo as he found a young girl clinging onto his back platting his long black hair, a mischievous grin plastered across her face.

"**Hey kid! Get off the king!" **The hollow lunged forward to grab the child but Ichigo stopped him.

"Don't. Think about it, we can go back and stop everyone from dyeing and destroy Aizen." The others reluctantly nodded in agreement as Ichigo set the girl down. She had short purple hair that just touched her shoulders, her fringe was pulled back with a clip that had a butterfly on it and she had amethyst coloured eyes that sparked like the jewel they were. As for her clothes she wore a simple white dress trimmed with purple that reached just below her knees and her feet were left bare.

"_**YAY! Then I can stay?"**_she giggled turning to the zanpakuto and hollow who were both unsurprised Ichigo let her stay, _**"hum, I think I'll call you tenny-chan."**_ She pointed to Tensa and then to the hollow,_**"and you Shiro-chan because you're so white."**_Squeeling in happiness the girl gave Ichigo a hug and the both the hollow and Tensa who seemed to relax afterwards.

"Do you have a name?" Ichigo asked as he started thinking of one for her.

"_**I do not,"**_She bowed her head in sadness, _**"would master give me one?"**_

"Just call me Ichigo, master sounds a bit weird." He now had the perfect name, "and I already have a name for you, I think Chouko (A/N, Butterfly child, I hope I got this right) would suit you."

"_**YAY! Thank you Ichi-ni,"**_ she gave Ichigo another hug before becoming serious again, _**"The recovering is complete, the fun shall start. I'll talk to you soon ichi-ni, in the mean time I'll play with Tenny-chan and Shiro-chan."**_

"Wait! What-" Ichigo was cut off as he felt himself being pulled back consciousness.

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><p>I suppose compared to my other fic the hollows going to be 'nicer' so to speak...<p>

You know when I was writing about the Hogyoku I kinda had the image of the pokemon Kirlia in mind. No idea why :L

Anyway hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, review with feedback please :)

P.S This story may have slow updates cause I'm trying to finish the first part of The Soul Fades. But when it's done I'll concentrate more on this one, if people like it.


	2. Where It Started

I own none of the rights to bleach, that goes to Tite Kubo

'_**Chouko talking in Ichigos head'**_

'**Shiro talking in Ichigos head'**

'Tensa talking in Ichigos head'

Where It Started

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><p>"God damn it!" Ichigo cursed as he studied his surrounds, he was in his human body in his room and for some reason was holding Kon. The children's plushie was currently squirming in his hands but stopped when Ichigo felt a familiar presence behind him.<p>

"Hi there. Boy, it looks to me like you're in a bit of a bind this evening, Ichigo." Urahara was sat on the window of Ichigos room. The one he had regularly tossed his father out of after the daily 'wake-up calls'. Then Ichigo remembered this was the night that the soul society had sent Renji and Byakyua to get Rukia! He had to hurry, at least this time he could actually save her.

'Uraharas alive? So it did work.'

'_**Were you doubting my power, Ichi-ni?'**_ Choukos hurt voice made Ichigo mentally wince in guilt.

'Of course not, I'm still just taking it all in.' He soothed before being brought back to the real world by the sensation that his soul reaper form was being separating from his body. His body and Kon fell to the floor and Urahara was left shocked. But before the shopkeeper could ask any questions Ichigo was out the window.

"Now's not the time Urahara! Maybe later!" Ichigo called out behind him as he made his way to where Rukia would be.

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><p>He'd arrived just in time to see Ishida go down. It brought back memories, ones Ichigo would rather leave buried in the depths of his mind. Even so he couldn't help but cry out as he grabbed Renji in the face and sent him flying down into the ground only a few meters away from Byakuya.<p>

"You bastard! What the hell do you think you're doing?" Renji roared as he picked himself up from the crater.

"Me? I'm saving Rukia, Ishida and everyone else who's going to die!" Ichigo yelled back as he materialised Tensa, "Tensa could you take them to Uraharas shop?"

"I do not think that is wise Ichigo, you will need me here. I suggest you send one of the other two to take them away." Tensa sighed, he didn't want the hollow loose on Katakura but then that meant using Chouko who he still didn't trust.

"You want me to let one of those two loose on Katakura? You have to be kidding Tensa." Ichigo's comment managed to get a few protests from the two spirits in question.

'**HEY! Don't you trust me kingy? Aren't we partners?' **

'_**I'll be good! I promise Ichi-ni!"**_

"Hey who are you? I sense no spiritual pressure yet you can see us and are obviously not a human." Renji called interrupting what Ichigo had been about to say to Chouko and Shiro.

"I'm Ichigo Kurosaki, Substitute Soul Reaper." Replied Ichigo.

"Ichigo? You're Ichigo? What happened?" Rukia started in a calm voice but the last part came out no more than an accusing yell, "What did you do to yourself?"

"Yes I'm Ichigo, who else can understand your stupid crappy drawings," Ichigo smirked from the reaction Rukia gave him for insulting her 'art', "and this? There is no need to go into this right now." he gestured to himself as he thought how strange he must look to them; long black hair, only shihakusho bottoms while his top half was covered in solid looking bandages.

"A soul reaper? Then where's your zanpakuto?" Renji quizzed as he glance to the teenage boy who was stood next to him wondering who he was.

"My zanpakuto? We'll that'd be him there." Ichigo pointed to the dark haired teen standing next to him.

"What you can materialise it? That must mean-" Renji was cut off as his captain stepped in to take charge of the situation. Watching from the side-lines wasn't getting him his answers and the boys' lack of spiritual pressure wasn't helping either.

"You have achieved bankai haven't you?" Byakuya asked hoping that it was not true; no human should ever be able to learn bankai. It was like trampling over all the values that were held towards those who'd already achieved bankai.

"Achieved bankai! Like that's the least he's done!" a shrill hollow like voice cackled, as a figure with long white hair holding a black mast appeared form behind Ichigo.

"I thought I told you to stay in!" Tensa smacked the hollow round the head with its own mask, "Idiot!"

"I tried to tell him but he wouldn't listen Tenny-chan," a small girl with purple hair said innocently as she appeared from Ichigos other side.

"Guys I thought I said that you're not allowed out! What would happen if someone saw you, which they have now.." Ichigo trailed off feeling hopeless against the many spirits that occupied his inner world.

"And who are these people?" Byakuyas hand was on his sword.

"I wouldn't worry about them, Byakuya they're not here to cause trouble unless trouble is made." Ichigo walked over to Rukia who was frozen with shock. He wanted to hug her, he was so happy to see her alive. A single tear made its way down his face as he murmured, "It's a second chance, I'll get it right and none of you will die."

The spirits stopped arguing when he said that and went over to comfort him, even the hollow that was beginning to know the feelings of the heart thanks to the Hogyoku. Tensa gripped his shoulde in comfort while Chouko gave him a crushing hug similar to that of Nels and Shiro gave him an awkward pat on the opposing shoulder to Tensa.

"How do you know my name boy?" Byakuya ground out his hand itching to unsheathe his blade.

"Woah, hold on a sec Byakuya, we have never been-" Ichigos zanpakuto cut him off.

"Remember they don't know you yet, idiot." Tensa murmured, gently whacking Ichigo round the head.

"Oh. Well I guess I just screwed it up haven't I." Ichigo replied cursing his own stupidity.

"We know you can't help it kingy, we've gotten used to you screwing everything up." The ever sensitive hollow supplied.

"Don't be so mean Shiro-chan, Ichigo doesn't mean to make all those mistakes." Chouko scolded the albino who merely glared at her.

"Regardless, you will be coming with us boy." Byakuya order his hand on his zanpakuto ready to use force if necessary.

"Think about this Ichigo, you don't want to let them know your true power but I advise you go with them, if you do then you might have the chance of stopping Aizen." Tensa said to Ichigo right after Byakuya finished, hoping Ichigo would heed his advice.

"What about the Hogyoku in this time?" Ichigo asked Chouko.

"If I can touch it or say whatever it is in then it'll be absorbed into me and my paradox will be cleared." Chouko looked at Rukia as she spoke; unsubtly hinting that she'd need to touch Rukia in order to get it.

"Fine," Ichigo turned to Rukia, "Hey Rukia, before we go she wants to, uh, give you a good luck hug or something." He indicated to Chouko who played to part of the shy child by hiding behind him. Rukia had always had a soft spot for children and that was coming in handy. She nodded not daring to speak for fear her voice would fail her, Ichigo had done something to himself that had caused him to lose all of his spiritual power and she was afraid to know what. The figures that clung to him were strange, only one of them was a zanpakuto but the other two she had no clue. The albino was kept throwing something in the air, but it was too dark to make out. And the kid? Well Rukia had no clue who she was. Maybe she was some wondering soul Ichigo had picked up on the way here not having the time to perform the passing over.

Rukia held out her arms so the kid could hug her. The child ran out from behind Ichigo and launched itself into her arms. The hug was only for a second before the girl went bouncing back to Ichigo a smile on her face for no reason at all.

"Well? Did you get it?" Ichigo asked aware that Byakuya was growing ever inpatient, stupid suck up noble.

"Yep I did Ichi-ni! But I feel tired, I'm going back now." and with that Chouko dematerialised leaving Ichigo with Tensa and Shiro on the outside.

"Such a manipulative child." Shiro muttered as he put his mask on before dematerialising too.

"What now Tensa?" Ichigo turned to the spot where his zanpakuto had been, but no longer was.

'What do you mean what now? You go with them you fool!" 

"Thanks guys, leaving me alone out here." Ichigo muttered before addressing Byakuya, "Okay I'll come with you. You're obviously too powerful for me to handle and I don't fancy dying today."

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><p>Wasn't sure whether to send Ichigo back to when Rukia was taken away or just before her execution. I suppose this way it's gonna be longer.<p>

Hope you guys liked this chapter, the next will either be out tomorrow or after Christmas (:


	3. A Plan…?

I'm surprised so many people are enjoying this one really :L

Thanks for reading and reviewing, Happy holidays. Christmas tomorrow :D

I own none of the rights to bleach, that goes to Tite Kubo.

'_**Chouko talking in Ichigos head'**_

'**Shiro talking in Ichigos head'**

'Tensa talking in Ichigos head'

A Plan…?

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><p>'I have no idea what I'm going to do now, thanks guys.' Ichigo sighed into his mindscape after he exited the senkimon.<p>

'If you hadn't materialised me you wouldn't be in this situation,' Tensa replied, "You could have shunpoed in grabbed Rukia and Ishida then got away in seconds.'

'**Come on Tensa-san, this is king we're talking about. He doesn't think things through like that,' the hollow cackled.**

'I wasn't asking you!' Ichigo yelled. As he did so his face twisted into a scowl that let out a small growl, only to be rewarded by raised eyebrows from those around him.

"I'm not going to ask Ichigo, if that really is your name.." Rukia glared at him and then proceeded to follow her brother. It hurt Ichigo to see that look off her after all this time. But who could blame her. In her eyes some stranger had come and replaced Ichigo -the boy she'd ran away to protect- in a matter of hours.

"Come on kid, move!" Renji growled pushing Ichigo forwards. Silently Ichigo continued, not trusting his voice to retort any reply to the young Renji.

~/~

They got many looks at they walked down the line of Soul reapers who'd been awaiting Byakuyas return. Many of those looks were directed at Ichigo, the boy they sensed now reiatsu from but radiated power. His appearance was another reason for the looks; his face barely visible beneath the mass of black hair and mask that covered his lower face –that made them doubt if he was a soul reaper. What made them believe he couldn't be anything but a soul reaper were the shihakusho bottoms that were almost ripped and torn beyond recognition –it was a surprise they were still able to be worn. The stares and gaps he got didn't both Ichigo. He was too busy having an internal conversation.

'You guys care to share any ideas?'

"Keep playing along, the shinigami with no power who has a three bladed zanpakuto?'

'I don't think they'll by that Tensa-san, I can understand they would believe a two bladed one. But not a three. Chouko?'

'**Hummm, what about you break out when they're all sleeping?'**

'Won't they hear me breaking down the walls?'

'**Don't be silly Ichi-ni! I'll teleport you out!'** He could hear her giggling in his mind as she madly chased the hollow around the sky scrapers.

'**What about asking me!' **said hollow demanded, almost getting caught by Chouko in the process. **'Just because I'm a hollow doesn't mean I can't think! You raciest' **

'Never said you couldn't think, just most of your ideas involve killing people.'

'**Well this one doesn't!' **The hollow screeched so loudly Ichigo involuntarily put his hands on his hears. The hollow then persisted to literally bash though Ichigos mind enraging the no longer walking Ichigo. As the hollows endless bashing continued Ichigo knew he'd eventually break though the small barriers he'd applied to keep the spirits from materialising. Looking around Ichigo mentally face-palmed at the amount of people who were around staring at him, even Byakuya had come to see what the disturbance was.

"What are you doing boy?" The cold noble ordered.

"Tch, doesn't concern you Byakuya!" Ichigo ground out. Black reiatsu emitted from his body making everyone stand back. All except a certain stubborn noble, "I'd stand back."

"Don't tell me what I should do boy." His hand was again on his sword. Rukia stood a few meters behind him. Ichigo felt the presence of Renji disappear from behind him and saw him appear next to his captain.

"I've told you already, I can't fight you!" Ichigo panted unable to hold the persistent hollow any longer. "On your own head be it then."

A white double materialised next to Ichigo clearly satisfied with something. He was an exact replica of the old Ichigo, only in black and white. His shihakusho was white with a black trim and long white hair fell to just above his waist. Its pale white skin exuded cruelness and insanity, the complete opposite to the Ichigo Rukia knew. Finally the things that scared most of the shinigami were its yellow on black eyes and the condemning black mask it held in its hand. A hollow.

"**Yo,"** The hollow grinned mainly at Ichigo whom it received a scathing glare and a punch to the face from.

"Idiot!" Ichigo said grapping the hollow by its shihakusho top.

"**Calm down kingy, it's all good fun."**

"It's not and we're leaving, now!" Ichigo said as he begand to shunpo forwards, but was cut off by a wall of pink blades.

"You will not be going anywhere, boy." Byakuya said in a usual cold voice.

"Sorry but I think we will. I'll swing by later, bye Rukia." And with that Ichigo used the quickest shunpo Byakuya had ever seen and disappeared from sight, avoiding the mass of blades.

"How'd he manage that captain? He doesn't even have any spiritual pressure!" Exclaimed a confused Renji who quickly composed himself, "Should we peruse captain?"

Byakuya debated this for a while. If he were to send people after the boy they would most likely never catch him and it would be a waste of time. However, he couldn't just let the boy get away, could he? The boy had claimed he would be back -probably to stop Rukias execution- and that would be the time to strike.

"We shall not peruse," His squad looked at him with confusion, "He said he will return and that is when we shall capture this royka. Return to your duties!"

Bowing all of squad 6 apart from its captain and lieutenant returned to their posts. Rukia was behind her brother, a crumpled heap on the floor. How could that have happened to Ichigo in such short time? He'd been normal –well as normall as Ichigo was- just a few hours ago, how could he turn into a hollow in such short time? And who was the man who claimed to be Ichigo, who talked like Ichigo and even looked at her like Ichigo would. There was something about him though, something clung to him and was too stubborn to let go. It was like an aura of loss and despair so strong that it had almost smothered her the first time she saw him. Her musings were interrupted when her brother spoke.

"Come now Rukia, we must take you to the jail where you shall await your sentence." Not waiting for her to get up Byakuya strode onwards. Dragging herself up Rukia ran to keep up with her brother who was as good as her executioner.

* * *

><p>"Why the hell did you do that?" Ichigo roared at the hollow as he threw him into a nearby rock. They were currently in the hideout where he'd learnt Bankai. He didn't want to be far from the action when it happened and he needed to deal with Aizen fast.<p>

"**I did my plan." **The hollow simply stated as he climbed out of the rubble and dusted himself off.

"Your…plan?" Ichigo said calmly.

"**Yes."**

"What kind of plan was that? Now they're going to on alert way to early! I was planning on escaping when the others arrived!" Yelled Ichigo as he killed the hollow into another rock.

"**Could you stop doing that?"**

"Eurghh!" he screamed attacking a rock instead of his hollow this time.

"**You know king. You have the same temper as Tensa." **The hollow smirked, **"and me I suppose."**

"Considering how I'm both of you at the moment, that doesn't surprise me." A now calm Ichigo said from behind the hollow.

"**If you think about it king, your friends will be here earlier," **Ichigo stayed silent and the hollow continued. **"Well Urahara doesn't have to make you a soul reaper again does he? And seeing how you disappeared the same day as Rukia they're going to think you were taken too."**

"That makes sense, you and Tensa fancy some sparing to pass the time?" Ichigo asked both his hollow and zanpakuto, who he'd now materialised along with Chouko.

"**Sure king, you know I like a fight."**

"Yes Ichigo."

"**Can I watch then Ichi-ni?" **Chouko asked as he jumped onto a crystallised rock which she'd materialised.

"Sure you can, why else would I materialise you?" Ichigo turned to his hollow and sword and they began, with a giggling child sitting behind them.

~/~

Their battle was so fast no one would be able to keep track. The only indication that a battle was taking place was the fact that a few rocks were destroyed here and there. The occasional sound of blades scraping against each other was heard but apart from that and a giggling child there was silence in the cavern. They continued like that for hours, having fun and teasing each other while they battled it out. Something they wouldn't have been capable of before Chouko. They may still not completely trust her intentions but, she had given them the gift of a new start and they were thankful for it.

When they'd all tired themselves out from the constant fighting they went to the spring to relax. That's when Ichigo found that his new outfit refused to come off.

"Tensa-san, how do I get this off?" Ichigo indicated as his rippling shihakusho bottoms, mask and bandages.

"Oh, here." Was all the teenage zanpakuto said clicking his fingers. The mask and bandages disappeared while the shihakusho bottoms morphed into black shorts.

Thanks…" Ichigo said looking down at the newly formed shorts.

"**Ichi-ni looks funny now."** Chouko chortled.

"Hey kid that's not funny! I don't even get how it looks funny either…." That comment got even more giggles from Chouko and a few from Tensa and his hollow.

"Right, what is it?" demanded Ichigo.

"**Oh nothing king, just like to say you're looking very…uh…nice." **The hollow dissolved into a fit of laughing causing ripples in the water

"Yeah…" His zanpakuto also joined the hollow in a fit of laughter while staring at Ichigos shorts.

Wondering why Ichigo looked down at the front of his shorts. Nothing was wrong with them; they were their normal rippling black. Then he twisted his back slightly so he see the back of them. That's when he spotted it. It was a long black tail that trailed to the ground twitching it different directions.

"Ahhh! Why the hell do I have a tail?" Ichigo yelled trying not to find it funny like the others.

"Well the rest of it had to go somewhere." Tensa said in a matter-of-factly way, "I put it into a tail because I thought it might not be noticed or give you extra balance or…."

The wise sword ran out of excuses and looked to the other too for help. Which of course they weren't, they were still in fits of laughter that Ichigo couldn't help but join in with. Maybe having a tail for a while could have its benefits. They'd have to test that out later. When the laughing fits ended the four wandering souls launched into a water fight. A fight which Chouko obviously won, as she teleported any water thrown at her onto someone else which only made them throw more at her. But the more water they threw at her the more they got hit with. None of them cared though. They could finally relax. There weren't thousands of lives depending on them. And no battles to be fought. They had found bliss even if it was just fleetingly.

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><p>There we go, I suppose it was a slow chapter but it's nice to slow down once in a while. Anyway hope you guys enjoyed it, next one will defiantly be after Christmas. Don't forget, if you read The Soul Fades, vote on the pole whether to get rid of Chie or not cause the votes as tied at the mo.<p>

Next chapter:

It Was Only Fleetingly


	4. It Was Only Fleetingly

Here it is guys the 4th chapter, the updates will start speeding up now as I've finished the Soul Fades until the sequel.

I own none of the rights to bleach, that goes to Tite Kubo

'_**Chouko'**_

'**Shiro'**

'Tensa'

It Was Only Fleetingly

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><p>"<strong>Come on Ichi-ni! Jump on the poles."<strong> Chouko called to Ichigo. The long haired soul reaper was stood on one of the rocks in the underground training room. They were currently testing the benefits of the newly acquired tail.

"Why do I have to do this? I don't even need the stupid tail!" Ichigo yelled at the spirits, two of which were struggling to control their laughter while a certain albino was cackling on the floor unable to control himself.

"Come now Ichigo, you might as well see the… uh positives of the tail…" Tensa trailed off into silent giggles.

"**Yeah! Listen to Tenny-chan! Jump on the poles!"**

"Fine! I'll jump on the damn poles!" Ichigo jumped off the rock and onto one of the crystal poles Chouko had created. At first he almost fell off but then the newly acquired tail prevented that. Ichigo continued down the line taking a cat-like stance whenever he landed on one of the poles.

"**YAY! Ichi-ni finished the poles!"** Chouko squealed before throwing a purple rope around the slim swords of Shiro, Tensa and Ichigo. Two of them were black while a lone one was white. She pulled them over to her and coated them in a thin see-through casing.

"**Hey! Whatcha doing with our swords?" **Shiro asked alerting Tensa and Ichigo. While Tensa turned to face Chouko, the pole Ichigo was standing on disappeared causing him to crash to the floor. A big cloud of dust was churned up by the impact as the now dirt-covered Ichigo coughed his was out the cloud.

"Where'd the poles go?" He asked coughing up some more dust.

"**I want to play a game of chase!"** Chouko said ignoring Ichigo, **"It's boring in here!"**

"Now think about this-" Tensa was cut off by Chouko.

"**I don't want to think about this! Catch me if you can!" **Was all the child said before she disappeared out the cave in yet another one of her mood swings.

"Don't tell me she just ran outside with our swords," Ichigo sighed. "Wait why don't we just dematerialise them?"

"**She put a barrier around them to stop that."** Shiro and Tensa said in unison.

"Great. We best get after her, I don't want to know the trouble she'll cause if left alone." Ichigo said as he shunpoed out the underground arena forgetting the fact he still had a tail. The other two weren't far behind him and easily kept up despite their snickering about how his tail twitched from side to side as he shunpoed.

Ichigo soon caught a glance of Chouko. She was, of all places, on Sōkyoku hill. Letting out a frustrated sigh Ichigo speed towards her, but not before a certain captain and his lieutenant saw him.

"Chouko, give me my sword." He said sternly to the child.

"**But I'm bored! What else can I do Ichi-ni?"** Whined the child in question.

"I don't know, just don't take the swords." Ichigo held out his hand, "Here give me the swords and I'll find something for you to do."

Chouko scrunched up her nose, not wanting to give in, **"Will Tenny-chan and Shiro-chan play too?"**

"Of course we will."

"**Yeah, not like we have a choice anyway," **Shiro muttered the last part so only Tensa could hear him, receiving a quick smack round the head. **"OW!"**

"Humm?" The zanpakuto said innocently getting a glare from the hollow.

"Can we have them then?" Ichigo asked again.

"**I guess so," **Chouko threw the swords at Ichigo. As they flew through the air to Ichigo a flash of white intercepted them.

"No!" Ichigo started forwards. The interruption was from a familiar sight of the captain of squad 10, Toshiro Hitsugaya.

"Stay where you are Ryoka!" he ordered, not like the Torshiro he had gotten used to at all.

'Wait, shouldn't he be in central 46?'

'Humm maybe we haven't been waiting as long as we thought… Or things are different seeing how you escaped their custody.'

"Toshiro! Give them back!" Ichigo yelled at the young looking captain who seemed shocked that Ichigo knew his name.

"Why would I give weapons to a ryoka?" Toshiro queried his half-awake lieutenant finally catching up to him.

"Oooh, isn't he cute." She cooed. Ichigo almost face-palmed but he didn't need to Shiro and Tensa had already done it for him.

"**Typical,"** The two male spirits muttered. Noticing the tone of voice Shiro used Toshiro instantly drew his sword.

"Who are you?"

"Look we're not here for any trouble, we-" Ichigo was interrupted by Tensa.

"Just give me my sword! I feel weird without it!" Tensa whined before appearing by Toshiro and whisking the crystal bundle from his grasp.

"**Woo! Give me my sword Tensa." **Demanded the hollow. His eyes gleamed with happiness when the zanpakuto compiled and threw him his white sword. In the spur of the moment the hollow hugged the sword as if it was a long lost friend, receiving weird looks from everyone in the process even those who lived with him. **"What? Come on kingy, you'd miss Zangetsu too!"**

"Yeah, but he's stood right next to me." Said Ichigo, indicating to the now smirking zanpakuto.

"**But it's nice to give Tenny-chan hugs,"** Chouko giggled throwing herself at the unsuspecting Tensa as she gave him a hug. Gingerly Tensa returned the gesture a small simile making its way onto his face.

"I'll ask again who are you?" repeated a frustrated captain whose lieutenant had now drawn her zanpakuto. They both looked ready for a fight.

"Wait a sec guys. Look my names Ichigo Kurosaki and these are my uh.." he looked to Tensa for help.

"Parts of his soul." Tensa supplied.

"How can you have parts your soul out if you have no spiritual pressure?" Toshiro asked glancing at the three different spirits.

"I do have spiritual pressure, you just can't sense it." Ichigo said making his blade disappear into a swirl of black reiatsu.

"That can't be possible. We would at least be able to sense something from you." Torshiro sated trying to add up the pieces.

"You wouldn't understand," Tensas face became filled with sorrow as he remembered the reason why Ichigo was in his currently form. If it were not for the hogyoku he would never see Ichigo again. Those around him noticed this especially Ichigo.

"Tensa… I'm sorry…It was the only way and I wanted to protect-" Ichigos words were broken as he realised what form he'd been in all this time.

"But what you want to protect is not what I want to protect Ichigo. I told you that before, no matter we still get to see you and you're stuck as Getsuga." A few tears ran down the zanpakutos hung head reminding Ichigo of the moment he had accepted his blade. The blade that had screamed nothing but loneliness when they battled in the waterlogged Katakura of his mindscape. Without another word Tensa disappeared shortly followed by Shiro and Chouko. Ichigo made a heavy sigh. One filled with the painful memories he'd been trying to forget just like the others. This was a new start. This time they would get it right.

"I am not in the right state to speak any longer, before I go tell me. Has Aizen died yet?" he asked in a monotone as he felt his outfit return to its original state; the solid bandages were back in place and the black reiatsu-like bottoms rippled slightly in the weak wind.

"Aizen dead? No he's not dead, why would he be dead?" demanded Toshiro who'd been suspicious of whatever was going on between Gin and Aizen since the last captains meeting about the five ryoka that'd recently entered the Seireitei.

"I see, just be careful around Aizen and when he turns up dead don't believe it even for a second. He will not be dead." And with that Ichigo Ichigo flash-stepped away, back to the underground training room.

When he got there he wanted nothing more to end it all. He was tired. Tired of having to fight for his life all the time. He wanted to protect everyone but he was growing tired of it all. Why did they need him here? If he were to get rid of Aizen then it would end it all. He could tell everyone that Ichigo Kurosaki was dead, and then they would be safe.

'You know Ichigo when you left that human body there were two of you in there.'

'So that means that there's still a me in this time?'

'**Sure does king, so all you need to do is stay out the way until Aizen appears.'**

'Then it will be over, wont it?'

'**Yes Ichigo, it will be over and you shall be able to rest or disappear.' **The spirits all said in unison. As much as Ichigo loved his friends and family there was still an Ichigo here that could protect them and with Aizen gone there was little to worry about. He'd say goodbye to all of them of course, even warn his other self about possible occurrences such as the Arrancar. Because even with Aizen gone the Arrancar could still pose a threat, though they would have no reason to. He'd miss them but in time he'd move on and they'd never even know who he was.

* * *

><p>Man I finally finished it, had a lil of writers block when it came to the dialogue (it's always been the thing I'm terrible at) but I know exactly where I'm going with this now.<p>

Hope the chapter wasn't too bad the next one will be out soon.

Thanks for reading :D

Next time: Needed Yet Unneeded


	5. Needed Yet Unneeded

Here it is the 5th chapter, found this one easier to write than the last one so enjoy :)

I own none of the rights to bleach, that goes to Tite Kubo

'_**Chouko'**_

'**Shiro'**

'Tensa'

Needed Yet Unneeded

* * *

><p>Ichigo was at a personal debate. He wanted to leave. Just leave everyone, they didn't know who he was anyway and they had their own Ichigo. But then there was the fact that they were all his friends and family and he wanted to stay by their side. Maybe he could leave for a while then go back when everything was sorted. It would be a lonely few years but… he'd come back someone different maybe.<p>

'**Oi! King stop being so gloomy up there! You're making it rain!' ** Shiro yelled from the now stormy mindscape.

'Sorry, just thinking.'

'Ichigo it is not good to dwell on things that have not happened yet. What will come, will come.'

'_**Tenny-chans right ichi-ni, anyway we're all tired I think we should sleep for a while.'**_ Before Ichigo could argue he collapsed into a heap on the floor his mind and body in a deep sleep.

~/~

**About 3 days before Rukias execution**

'**Crap he's waking up. Hey kid can't you put him back to sleep?'** The hushed voice of Shiro echoed though Ichigos mind.

'_**Sorry Shiro-chan but that's the longest I can do it for, maybe he won't wake up if we're very quiet.'**_ Chouko whispered childishly.

'Fools he's already awake.' Tensa said rolling his eyes.

'Why the hell did you put me to sleep?' Ichigo roared at the spirits in his mindscape.

'Told you.'

'_**I'm sorry Ichi-ni, but what else were we going to do? And we were all tired especially you.'**_

'At least warn me in advance.'

'**Will do kingy,' **Ichigo blocked out the hollow, he needed to find out what had been going on. He pulled himself up from behind some rocks and dusted off the specks of dust that had acclimated over the time he'd been asleep. He was about to go round the corner when we heard some familiar voices.

"To get from Shikai to Bankai will take well over 10 years of training, even for the talented." Yoruichi said beinging her speech on how to acquire bankai, "But, I'm going to have you achieve bankai in three days."

Ichigo tuned out of the rest of the lecture. He'd heard it all before and right now he needed to think of a way to get out of there. He looked around a saw no way he could sneak around the former stealth force commander, after all he wasn't a stealthy person. Maybe there was another way….

It clicked, he could get Chouko to mask his presence. He was about to ask the child in question but before any of that could happen a mass of white hurled itself into Ichigos side sending them both flying though the rock. They burst though the rock landing in a heap between Yoruichi and the younger Ichigo. The culprit who'd sent him flying though the rock had done so with a huge whining yell.

"**Don't ignore me kingy! I was just about to suggest something!" **Shiro whined from on top of him.

"Well if you didn't do stupid things like this then I wouldn't ignore you!" Ichigo yelled back shoving the idiotic hollow of him.

"**Oh yo Zangetsu, haven't seen you in a while." **Shiro said nodding to the doll summoned Zangetsu. The zanpakuto nodded back but said nothing.

"You! What are you doing out?" roared the younger Ichigo clearly recognising the albino hollow.

"Idiot go back in, I'll deal with this." Ichigo growled at Shiro who dematerialised in an instant. "I wouldn't worry about him, you'll get used to him."

"Who are you?" Yoruichi asked.

"My name is…" Ichigo paused thinking of a new name, saying he was Ichigo wouldn't be believable. "Mugestu."

"I see, care to explain why you were hiding behind that rock?" Yoruichi interrogated taking an aggressive stance.

"Hold on a sec I'll explain, just to you though." He said holding up his hands in defence. He turned to Ichigo, "Good luck, make sure you save Rukia. I'll see you soon."

With a small nod at Zangetsu he indicated for Yoruichi to follow him beyond Ichigos earshot. They stopped just by the exit of the cave the long ladder handing down just behind Mugetsu.

"So?" demanded Yoruichi.

"Look, I'm just here to help," He said and Yoruichi relaxed a bit. "I know this will sound crazy but I'm from the future. I'm not going to interfere much, just kill Aizen then I'll be gone."

Mugetsu continued to explain leaving out a few details such as him being Ichigo and the battles that happened. He did warn her about the espada and that they might attack even with Aizen out of the picture. Her reaction was what he expected, she let no sign of shock play on her face as she digested all his information.

"You seem to really care about the kid." She stated, "So what are you going to do now?"

"I'll find somewhere to wait it out, don't want to be messing things up." He said as he began to climb the ladder.

"Wait, why don't you stay here? You could spar with Ichigo when I've finished with him."

"He won't have time." Mugestu climbed the ladder and out into the flesh air of the Seireitei as he stood upon Sōkyoku Hill. The sun was bright and hung high in the sky revealing all the destruction that had happened from the invasion. Mugetsu smirked as he studied it, he'd never seen how much damage they'd all caused during their battles and looking at it now made him feel nostalgic. Many walls had been smashed through leaved rubble littering the streets and some buildings had been completely destroyed. He sat down at the edge planning only to stay there for a few minutes. The few minutes managed to turn into hours and would have been longer if not for the arrival of Renji.

When Renji saw him he instantly went on the defensive glaring at him with distrust. Mugetsu could understand the reasoning for the reaction Renji was showing him but it didn't make it hurt any less.

"Don't worry about me being here Renji. You best go down, you don't have long to learn you bankai." Mugetsu said smirking when Renjis jaw dropped from the mention of him learning bankai.

"How did you know?" he asked recovering, "And why are you here?"

"I just know, and as for why I'm here that's purely to help deal with a problem." Mugetsu finished then waited for Renji to go. When he didn't move Mugetsu sighed, "Go now Renji!"

When pineapple head had gone Mugetsu decided it was best he moved closer to where Rukias execution would take place. He got up and made his way leisurely towards the tall white buildings that were the Senzaikyū.

Even at a slow pace he managed to get there in 5 minutes. As he stood on top of the building he debated running in and grabbing Rukia now. But that would be a bad idea, he'd change to much by doing that. But that wasn't to say he couldn't go pay her a visit.

'Chouko is there any way you can help me cling to the rock?'

'_**Sure there is Ichi-ni. Try climbing on the rock now.'**_

Mugetsu gingerly moved towards the edge of the roof. It was hard to see where the edge was because the sun was setting thanks to his daydreaming earlier. With some stumbling he managed to reach the edge and dropped into a crouch. Facing the floor he swung one leg over and tried to bring it as close to the wall as he could. When his foot hit stone he dragged the other one down until it hit the wall too. With both fit firmly held against the wall somehow Mugetsu slid down until his hands were right at the edge of the roof. Carefully he removed one hand from the white lip and onto the wall where it was held in place. He repeated the same step with the other and was soon crawling down the side of the building like spiderman, only backwards.

As he descended Mugetsu found himself enjoying the experience, that was after he got over the fear of falling at least 100 feet to the ground. The wind whirled around the tower occasionally howling in his ear as he got closer to Rukias window.

When he reached the window he hit a problem. The window was too small for him to fit though.

'Great I climbed all the way down here and I can't even pay her a visit.'

'_**Ichi-ni all you need to do is ask. I'll make it a bit wider for you.'**_

'Thanks.'

Mugetsu walked through the enlarged window wondering why they were all being so quiet. Normally they were keen to constantly talk to him and would only be quiet when he either let them out or went in to see them.

'We're being quiet because we know that at the moment you need some time to yourself.'

'**Yeah, don't ya worry king we've got your back.' **Shiro called out in a cheesy manner making Mugetsu snort in laughter. The noise woke up the current occupant of the cell who made her way cautiously towards him.

"Heyy, Rukia." He said making no move towards her, it would only spook her more.

"You're that person, who said they were Ichigo…" she trailed off as she studied him.

"Yeah, I don't know if you believe that or not but my name is Mugetsu."

"Oh don't give me that I know you're Ichigo, fool!" she marched up to him and punched him in the jaw.

"OW! Hey what was that for?" he grimaced rubbing his jaw.

"For coming here! Even after I told you not to and looking like that!" she argued

"I've already been here! And it's not my fault I look like this!" he held up his hand when she opened her mouth to protest some more, "Not now, it's your execution soon I don't want to argue. Might not see you on the day."

"Why aren't you here to save me?" She asked taken aback by his hint that he won't be saving her.

"Not me," he indicated to himself, "but the Ichigo of this time will. The one who you know more than me."

"Bu-but-but-Wha-" She began confused but Mugetsu cut her off.

"You never shut up do you?" he smirked.

"You never changed did you?" she smiled, the same smile he remembered when he'd attempted to save her before learning bankai.

"Sure I did, but I'm not going to tell you." Mugetsu said as he sat down in front of the window, a cool breeze blowing against his back.

"Why not? I'm going to die tomorrow so I can't tell anyone." She sighed as she sat down next to him shivering from the cold. Noticing this Mugetsu asked Chouko to form a blanket from his reiatsu which he then handed to Rukia.

"What's this?" she asked running her hands through the black flimsy material.

"A blanket, what else?" He stated looking blankly at her, smirking when she got frustrated with his obvious avoidance.

"You know what I mean," he continued to stare blankly at her and she eventually gave in. "If you're not here to save me then why are you here?"

"Thought I'd drop by for a visit."

"How'd you even manage to get in? The window's obviously too small."

"I have my ways."

"Something you're not going to tell me again?"

"You got it."

"What now?"

"Well I'm a bit tired, surprising seeing how I've been sleeping for a week or so."

"Sleep for how long?"

"A week," Mugetsu paused, "not a very restful one though. Anyway be quiet, I'm going to sleep."

"So you come and talk to me for a few minutes then go to sleep?" Rukia scowled, "What's the point?"

"Haven't seen you in ages," he said a small tear escaping as it rolled down his covered left cheek.

"I see, night then Ichigo." Rukia whispered as she noticed the tone in Ichigos voice. Turning away from him Rukia pulled the black blanket over her and drifted off into sleep.

~/~

It was only a few minutes later when Mugetsu woke up. His battle hardened instincts wouldn't let him sleep here. People would be arriving soon to tell Rukia that her sentence was being moved up. Asking Chouko to widen the window again Ichigo jumped out searching for somewhere close to the execution to wait. Mugetsu eventually decided that sitting by the Sōkyoku stand would be the best option for the moment. No one would be going up there until the day of the execution, but he wouldn't be there when the execution happened. He'd appear when his younger self finished his battle with Byakuya and had left the hill.

Settling down next to the stand Mugetsu appeared to be asleep. However, he'd really gone to visit the spirits who'd been quiet for basically the whole day. His inner world was the same as it had always been. Massive skyscrapers stretched across the whole of his world in their blue entirety. A few of the skyscrapers had water dripping down them and the clouds responsible were beginning to disappear. The local spirits were in front of him as they sat on the side of the skyscraper playing a game of poker with cards that were surprisingly dry.

'Why are you playing poker?'

'**Bored, and thanks to you it's been raining.'**

'You know we hate the rain!'

'_**I kept Tenny-chan and Shiro-chan dry in this bubble,'**_ Chouko beamed as the invisible 'bubble' shimmered before dispersing.

'I know it rained, I'm sorry but that isn't an excuse to play poker with a kid!' He yelled pointing at Chouko.

'_**It was my idea!'**_

Both the older spirits nodded and then proceeded to continue their game.

'**Royal flush! I win!' **Declared Shiro throwing down his winning hand and grabbing the pile of chips.

'You can't win, I have the king and queen of hearts which are in your hand!' Tensa argued.

'_**Shiro-chan cheated!'**_ Chouko squealed as she jumped at the hollow and began repeatedly hitting him.

'Should've guess he'd cheat,' Ichigo muttered walking over to try calm the situation down which only led to him being attack by Chouko too.

* * *

><p>I'm going to start referring to time travel Ichigo as Mugetsu so it gets less confusing but in his inner world he'll be Ichigo seeing how that's the only inner world I'll be going into.<p>

Thanks for reading and remember to review :D

Next time: Ends Where It Begins


	6. Ends Where It Begins

Enjoy :)

I own none of the rights to bleach, that goes to Tite Kubo

'_**Chouko'**_

'**Shiro'**

'Tensa'

Ends Where It Begins

* * *

><p>Mugetsu woke with a start. He could hear people approaching, which meant Rukias execution was just about to start.<p>

'Why didn't you guys wake me up?'

There was no reply from the eerily silent mindscape that was normally teeming with life.

'HEY!' he inwardly yelled, his loud voice echoing through the inner world. Shattering the silence that had been there before.

'**Ow, kingy there's no need for that so early in the m-m-moorning!'** Shiro yawned having clearly been asleep.

'It's not morning! Rukias execution is about to begin. Crap that reminds me I got to move.' Ichigo cursed as he silently disappeared from behind the tall wooden stand and landed on the roof of Senzaikyū . As he did so he asked a sleepy Chouko to disguise him from the eyes of others. She complied and Mugetsu saw a shimmer surround him confirming that he was hidden.

Now all he had to do was wait.

While he did so his spirit counterparts had a few questions.

'**Why don't you just jump down there and rescue Rukia?'**

'If I do that Aizen won't appear and my past self needs to get stronger so it's best he fights Byakuya.'

'Ichigo are you even sure Aizen will appear, you have changed a few things.'

'True but he's got to appear there, its where the yellow light appears and the only place he can take Rukia to remove the 'hogyoku'.' He said, he hoped that Aizen still thought it was in Rukia if not there was going to be a problem.

'What will you do if he knows the Hogyoku isn't there?'

'**Kings gonna to go hunting for him, aren't cha?**

_**'Yay hunting time'**_ The now hyper Chouko piped in.

'Tensa why is she hyper? She was half asleep a second ago.' Groaned Mugetsu as he glanced towards the wooden stand.

His younger self had arrived and was standing in front of the blazing fiery bird. He watched at two captains threw a thick rope at it and destroyed the mass of fire by sending spiritual pressure into the seal decorated rope. Mugetsu sighed, he'd now have to spend time watching as he got his ass kicked.

'Shiro gave her sweets.' Tensa said bringing Mugetsus attention back to his spirits.

'Why'd you give her sweets you idiot! You know what she's like when she's normal, her being hyper will only being chaos!' Mugetsu yelled at Shiro who was barely paying attention. He was too busy trying to stop Chouko for manifesting herself along with Tensa.

'Chouko! Stop trying to manifest! You can come out later, but at the moment we're playing hide and seek okay?' Mugetsu half scolded the Chouko who after decided to stop manifesting herself.

_**'Okay Ichi-ni. Are we hiding from those people on the hill? Cause they're all disappearing.'**_ Her words made Ichigo look at the hill. She was right, everyone was leaving like they had before he battled Byakuya. It wouldn't be long now.

The spirits inside him fell quiet and he could hear the lough crunching of popcorn as they all watched Ichigos first attempt at using bankai.

While they watched Mugetsu would get a few comments from Shiro and Tensa about how bad he was when he first used it. Such things like, **'No wonder I had to save ya ass king.' **And 'You weren't even using me to my full capability!' were thrown at him making him more irritated by the second.

~/~

When the fight finished Mugetsu stood up and was about to get Chouko to drop the cloaking barrier when Ishida looked right at him. The Quincys gaze stayed on the invisible Mugetsu as if he knew he was there.

'How can he sense me? I don't have any reiatsu that people can sense and I'm practically invisible.'

'_**Sorry ichi-ni it must be me, when I use abilities for a while I leak small bits of reiatsu out.' **_Mugetsu could feel the kid child pouting like she was expecting him to be angry at her.

'Don't worry about it, I'm sure it won't do any harm.' Ichigo said sweetly which received a mental hug from the excitable purple-haired child.

Soon all of his friends were gone along with Ichigo. Mugetsu waited a second before shunpoing to the hill in preparation for Aizen.

A few seconds after landing on the desolate churned up hill Aizen appeared along with Rukia and Renji. They were all in front of him but Aizen was too busy trying to get Rukia to notice him charging at him.

"Aizen!" he roared as he charged bringing together his black reiatsu in the form of a sword. Aizen barely blocked the first attack and had no chance when Mugetsu came back round for the second. As they clashed at the first blow Mugetsu remembered to touch his sword, and did so without Aizen noticing. The second attack hit but it wasn't good enough, it only managed to clip his shoulder and made a shallow tear in his flesh. A small amount of blood poured from the wound, not that Aizen was bothered. He believed Mugetsu to be under his complete hypnosis.

Aizen appeared behind Mugetsu thinking his opponent was staring at his illusionary form. How wrong he was. He brought he sword in for the kill but was stopped when they boy turned around and grabbed him by the face.

"Imposs-" Aizen barely began but the boys young voice cut him off.

"Don't want to hear it Aizen," Mugetsu snarled as he flipped Aizen over to his over side, away from Rukia and a blood covered Renji. He paused for a split second looking at the shocked face of Aizen before muttering, "Mugetsu."

Instantly blackness appeared around him and Aizen. No one on the outside could see what was happening. Others had arrived just in time to see the traitors captain thrown to the floor by a figure only a few recognised before the veil had obscured their view.

The veil of blackness that was the move Mugetsu hurtled down at Aizen. The traitor stood no chance as the attack killed him on impact leaving no trace of him behind. The black veil dissipated and Mugetsu found himself extremely tired. His vision began to blur a bit as he felt himself falling forwards only stopping the fall by impaling his zanpakuto into the ground.

'Idiot, I told you not to use it. You may be unable to lose you shinigami powers but that doesn't mean it won't take its toll!' Tensa scolded from his inner world before he materialised next to Mugetsu and steadied him.

"You know I never listen Tensa.." Mugetsu said drowsily causing Tensa to sigh.

"I know but it's worth a try. Come on now wake up you fool," Tensa ordered shaking him a bit. When that didn't work he decided to leave it a while, there were more pressing matters at hand and Mugetsu would recover soon.

Tensa looked around the hill, everyone who'd been there the day Aizen had left was here now with the exception of Gin. Tousen was currently staring at the place where he would've last sensed Aizen. Before he could twitch in Mugetsu's direction the fox-like captain appeared before him and started ranting at him. Not that Tensa was paying attention, he was too busy being stared down by the majority of the Gotei 13. Only one person called out to him, one that made Tensa almost laugh.

"It's you!" Ichigo called from his position in front of Rukia. He then looked at Tensa, "Who are you?"

"Tensa Zangetsu." Tensa said plainly.

"Zangetsu? You can't be Zangetsu's my zanpakuto." Ichigo said confused. Tensa was about to form a reply arguing his case but Mugetsu cut him off.

"He's not Zangetsu don't worry. He's obviously different." Mugetsu slurred, "Aren't you Tenny-chan."

"Snap out of it you idiot!" Tensa yelled his brow twitching in annoyance.

"Sorry."

"Hey Mugetsu!" Yoruichi called as she landed next to him, "You delt with Aizen already? That was quick for a guy with no reiatsu."

"I do have reiatsu, you just can't sense it." Mugetsu argued his words less slurred as he began to recover.

"Whatever you say kid." Yoruichi paused in thought, "So what're you going to so now?"

"Leave." He stated bluntly.

"You shall do no such thing!" Boomed the Captain Commander from the opposite direction or Rukia, "You shall explain your actions!"

"Do I have to?" he asked turning to Yoruichi and Tensa both of whom sweat dropped at the stupid question.

"There is obviously only one choice," Began Tensa.

"You explain, unless you want to fight your way out and be hunted down forever." Yoruichi finished.

"Suppose I'll have to then won't I?" Mugetsu stepped to the side so he could talk to everyone, "I'll explain but you got to do something about him," he pointed to Tousen, "I don't want him to hear any of this."

The commander nodded and placed a strong binding kido on Tousen before ordering for him to be taken away.

When Tousen was gone Mugetsu began his explanation that he'd given to Yoruichi only a few days before. A few parts he had difficulty explaining so Tensa and Yoruichi stepped in to help. When the explaining was done everyone stared at him in silence that is until Ishida stepped forwards to ask something.

"You're the person I sensed on the tower aren't you?"

"Yeah I was waiting for Aizen to appear." Mugetsu said as he massaged his temples. He had a huge headache, had done since the beginning of the explanation but it hadn't been as bad then.

"Anything else?" He asked as he turned to leave with Tensa who too seemed to have a headache.

"**Yeah there is king! You've been ignoring me for agessss! I'm bored with just the kid for entertain..ment.."** His hollow yelled before trailing off as he looked at the mass of soul reapers he'd materialised himself into. **"Oops."**

"That voice, you're the one who took over Kurosakis body earlier," Byakuya began as he tried to pinpoint what Shiro was, "You're the hollow." At that everyone either gasped or eyed Shiro and his companions with suspicion. They readied themselves to strike if the albino made even one wrong move.

"**I'm not his hollow!" **Shiro pointed at Ichigo before he added without thinking, **"I'm his." **He pointed to Mugetsu.

"Your idiocy knows no bounds, does it Shrio?" Tensa said, sarcasm lacing his voice as he snatched the hollows mask out of its hands and started beating him with it.

As Tensa chased the hollow around the place everyone relaxed as they eyed the boys in curiosity. It wasn't normal for someone to have a hollow in them let alone it act as un-hollow-like as this one did. A few of the on looks found it amusing to see a hollow running around the place in fear of being beaten by its own mask.

"Can we go then?" Mugetsu asked the captain commander who currently had one eye open as he watched the hollow.

"You may not." Was the stern reply that made Mugetsu groan in annoyance.

"Why? I've told you every-" Mugetsu was cut off by the old man.

"You have not, and for that reason I wish to question you in private." There was no room for debate in the commanders statement and Mugetsu didn't want to fight he way out of the Seireitei for obvious reasons.

"Fine, I'll stay." He agreed just as his hollow ran past, Tensa hot on his tail. In his irritable mood Mugetsu grabbed the hollow by the scuff of his neck stopping Shrio in his tacks.

"**Whatcha doing king?"** Shiro turned and saw Tensa right being him, his mask in hand. Shiro gulped before screaming, **"Don't hurt me Tensa! Noooo!"**

The young zanpakuto gave the hollow a light hit before he began laughing from Shiros idiocy. As Tensa was laughing Rukia walked over to Mugetsu a smile on her face.

"Looks like you were right." She said, "What're you going to do after talking to the captain commander?"

"I might leave, get a break from everything, it depends how things work out." He was about to say more when he noticed Ichigos and Byakuyas apprehension about Rukia being near him, "You best go back to the others I have a meeting to attend to."

Nodding Rukia went over to Ichigo before visiting her brother who was still bleeding badly from the wounds during his battle with Ichigo. Mugetsu looked over to the captain commander who indicated for him to follow.

Knowing he was about to leave Shiro and Tensa dematerialised, Tensa was still in fits of laughter which for some reason had passed onto Shiro. Mugetsu sighed as he took one last glance at his friends -who were all eyeing him with curiosity- before he followed the captain commander to his barracks.

* * *

><p>Hope you guys liked this chapter, I'm sorry if you thought the fight with Aizen was too short but seeing how Ichigos in his FGT form he kinda kicks Aizen ass :L<p>

Hope you all enjoyed it, remember to review :D

Next time: One Choice, Not Needed Anymore


	7. One Choice, Not Needed Anymore

Hope you guys all enjoy this chapter :)

I own none of the rights to bleach, that goes to Tite Kubo

'_**Chouko'**_

'**Shiro'**

'Tensa'

One Choice, Not Needed Anymore

* * *

><p>Mugetsu was in the Captain Commanders office. The room was big, bigger than many of the other captains but that was to be expected. The oak floorboards were free from blemishes and shined in the light that came through the large open balcony. There was a wooden desk, one where the Captain Commander would normally sit but today he walked over and stood on the balcony. Shrugging Mugetsu followed and stood next to the old man as he looked out over the Seireitei.<p>

"Soo, what do you want to know?" Mugetsu said glancing at the Commander.

"What you refused to tell me," Yamamoto stated bluntly as he continued to stare out over the Seireitei.

"I told you everything."

"Don't give me that boy, I know you didn't." Yamamoto paused, waiting for Mugetsu to say something. When no reply came he continued, "You may have your reasons but every detail is necessary, I assure you no one else will hear this conversation unless it is completely essential."

"Fine," Mugetsu huffed, turning out to look over the partially destroyed Seireitei. "My name isn't Mugetsu, its Ichigo Kurosaki. The reason I look like this is because of a technique called the Final Getsuga Tensho."

"Your power must have grown much boy, how far along are you from?" Yamamoto said raising an eyebrow.

"A few months." Mugetsu said which caused Yamamoto to open both eyes in surprise, "I did spend a long time in the Danga world training."

"What happened to the cleaner?"

"Aizen destroyed it."

"It's a good thing you killed him when you did boy, I am thankful for that."

"I wasn't going to let him destroy everything again." Mugetsu growled, scowling at the current surroundings.

"What did he do?"

"Like I said, he destroyed everything. My friends and my family were all killed by either him or his Arrancar." He kept his voice even, there was no point in losing it now. Maybe later he could reflect on it all, time hadn't allowed him to yet.

"Where were we when this happened?" Yamamoto asked, he'd heard no indication that they'd been around during whatever battle had taken place.

"You were among my friends, after this incident I guess you could say we got closer. A few things happened that I helped out with." Mugetsu smiled slightly as he ran his hand through the crown of his hair.

"What are these incidents? And will they still happen?"

"First there was the Bounts, so I suggest keep an eye out in the human world for them but don't go killing them all. A few of them weren't all that evil."

"Bounts, I thought they were all dead…"

"Then Arrancar first appeared after that and kidnapped Orihime, that probably won't happen anymore cause Aizen was the one who ordered for it to happen."

"What are you going to do about the Arrancar? You are like them in a way aren't you?" Yamamoto asked with suspicion lacing his voice.

"I'll probably go over there, see what they're up to. They can't feel my reiatsu so no one will know I'm there. If they seem like they're going to attack I'll warn you." Mugetsu ignored the other question that referred to something he'd rather no one know about.

'**I find that pretty insulting kingy!' **

'Idiot, it's for your own good.'

'_**Yeah, Ichi-ni doesn't want you to get hurt!'**_

The spirits continued the small quarrel quietly as Mugetsu waited for another question from Yamamoto.

"What else is there to come?"

"Two more things, you'll be getting a new captain to replace the ones you lost. Apparently you killed his father Shin'etsu Kisaragi so he came seeking revenge by using these Bakkōtō, his one could seal away Shinigami powers." Mugetsu sighed wishing he was almost finished.

"What is his name?" Yamamoto showed no sign or indication that he knew what Mugetsu was talking about.

"Shūsuke Amagai, he's a strong guy and would've made a good captain. He's meant to be replacing Gin but I'm not sure what you're going to do with Gin…" Mugetsu trailed off as he remembered how Gin had attempted to kill Aizen.

"What is that supposed to mean boy? He's a traitor and should be punished like one!" The Commanders stern voice interrupted Mugetsus battle filled thoughts.

"He only defected so he could kill Aizen."

"What about the last occurance?"

"It was a zanpakuto rebellion, I could go out looking for the zanpakuto responsible but I doubt Byakuya would want me interfering with the Kuchiki matters." Mugetsu smirked thinking about the look on the nobles face if her were to intervene.

"What has it got to do with the Kuchiki clan?"

"Muramasa, the zanpakuto who causes it all does so in order to free his wielder. Koga Kuchiki." Mugestu said finally finishing his explanation of upcoming events.

"I see, some of this information I will have to reveal to the others." When seeing the panic on Mugetsus face he added, "I will not tell them who you are."

"Good, just keep what you reveal to a minimum, I don't want to mess this time line up too much." Mugetsu turned and began to walk to the double sliding doors.

"What will you do now?" Asked the Captain Commander without turning around.

"I've only got one choice at the moment. Things are too chaotic for me to jump into everyone's lives so I'm going to leave for a while. I'll go check on the espada then just wonder for a while until I'm needed." He opened the door as the commander turned around giving the young warrior a sad gaze as he left the room.

"So young to have seen everything he's seen," mused Yamamoto as he stared where Mugetsu had been, "It is not a wise choice to be alone. He has much to learn about the price of war."

~/~

Mugestu had returned to the barren hill of Rukias execution so that Shiro could open a garganta. He materialised Shiro and while the albino began the process of opening a garganta Mugetsu looked over at now setting sun. His talk with Yamamoto had taken longer than he thought and now night was falling. The last of the sun's rays were warm on his skin and with one last glance over the familiar surroundings Mugetsu began to walk into the now open garganta.

"Where do you think you're going?" The angry voice of Rukia yelled as she came running over the hill with Orihime on her tail.

"I'm leaving." He replied as he continued to look into the darkness of the garganta.

"Without saying goodbye?" Rukia scolded as she came to a stop in front of him and Orihime a few seconds later.

"Rukia I don't think-" She began in her usual quiet shy manner.

"Don't worry Orihime he won't do anything." Rukia assured her before turning back to Mugetsu expecting an answer of some sort.

"I don't see the need to say goodbye, it's not like you won't see me. I'll be back someday anyway." Mugetsu said which almost received a punch from Rukia.

"That's a bit cold. You're not even going to say goodbye to Orihime?" Rukia smirked pushing the scared Orihime forwards.

"Why would I say goodbye to someone I don't know?" He said as he jumped into the garganta not wanted either of them to see his face. Mugetsu ran along the stable blue path which Chouko had silently created. He'd had to say he didn't know them. He couldn't tell them he was Ichigo because they already had an Ichigo in their time, one they knew more than him.

'I travel back in time so I can save everyone and I can't even see them.'

'Of course you can see them, you become their friend just not as Ichigo.'

'**What Tensa said and stop being a downer king, you're making it rain!'**

'Sorry.'

~/~

When Mugetsu arrived in Hueco Mundo he set about looking for Las Noches. It wasn't that difficult to find it, it was hard to miss a giant white castle in the middle of a lifeless desert. As he set off it didn't seem to take as long to get there as it did before but that was probably due to the lack of Aizens presence and tricks.

It was easy to sneak into the palace, and because no one could sense his reiatsu it was like strolling through a group of blind people. Mugetsu knew there were only a few he had to worry about, mostly the espada would be able to sense him in some way. If they were hostile towards him Mugetsu was confident that he would be able to deal with them.

Mugetsu reached what he assumed was a meeting room and he positioned himself hanging from the roof thanks to Choukos abilities while he invisibly waited for them to appear. The reasoning for why he assumed the espada would be arriving was he guessed that Aizen had planned a meeting with them. As he waited Mugetsu studied the plain white room. In the centre there was a giant white that had 13 unoccupied chairs positioned around it which were also white.

He didn't have to wait long for the chairs to become occupied as the espada quickly filled into the room. A few he recognised as he had battled them before while others he was at a complete loss with. They all sat in silence as they waited for a dead man. Some began to grow restless finding this a waste of their time while others just sat patiently. Among those sitting patiently 4 kept staring at the place where Ichigo was.

More minutes passed by and Mugetsu grew bored. Didn't they realised Aizen wasn't turning up? He was about to leave when a familiar cold voice got his attention.

"Have you finished spying on us trash?" Ulquiorra called up to him making everyone else look in Mugetsu direction.

"How did you know? Infact don't answer that it was probably the same as Ishida." Mugetsu said as he dropped down onto the table turning the invisibility off in the process.

"What is a Shinigami doing here?" growled Grimmjow while the others remained quiet.

"Like you guys weren't expecting a Shinigami." Mugetsu smirked, "I'm not exactly a proper one anyway." As he said the last part he materialised his horned hollow mask but that didn't seem to deter their hostility.

"You know where Lord Aizen is?" Ulquiorra asked.

"He's dead." Mugetsu declared, a few faces looked shocked while others appeared uncaring. Murmuring broke out around the table but was silenced when one of the more powerful espada spoke up.

"Who killed him?" a woman with short blonde hair spoke calmly from behind her tall white collar.

"Me."Mugetsu said before jumping off the table to avoid some of the zanpakutos the attempted a swipe at him.

* * *

><p>Thanks for reading , remember to review.<p>

Next time: You're Free


	8. You're Free

Hope you guys all enjoy this chapter next one will be out maybe at the weekend depends how things go :)

I own none of the rights to bleach, that goes to Tite Kubo

'_**Chouko'**_

'**Shiro'**

'Tensa'

You're Free

* * *

><p>"Did I hear right? A piece of trash killed Aizen-sama?" Ulquiorra said emotionlessly.<p>

"He obviously ent a piece of 'trash' Ulquiorra if he killed Aizen." Grimmjow snarled at the pale espada.

"If you killed him why are you here?" asked the blonde in a calm fashion her aqua green eyes silencing anything else Grimmjow had to say.

"I guess I thought I should tell you all, and see what you're all going to do now he's not around." Mugetsu said honesty as he dematerialised his mask.

"What do our actions have to do with you?" called a man with dark brown hair from the head of the table, next to the blonde.

"Aizen was going to have you attack a town in the human world, I won't let anything happen to that place nor the people who live there."

"Why's this town so important to you? It is a place where humans live not shinigami." The blonde quizzed.

"Who said I was a shinigami?" Mugetsu asked answering her question with a question. The blonde didn't answer and only made a slight nod in conformation that she understood why he didn't want them going near that town.

"Just a human! You're just a human!" Grimmjow cackled madly from his seat, causeing the others to stare at him and simply roll his eyes. "A human beat Aizen!"

"**He's not just a human." **Shiro sighed appearing next to Mugetsu. The albino turned to Ulquiorra and gave the stoic espada a smirk, **"Yo batty. Last time I saw you, you were turning to dust and floating away."**

"Thought I told you to stay quiet." Mugetsu ground out.

"**Kingy you can't expect us to stay quiet all the time, we get bored ya know." **Shiro scowled at first but it soon turned into a grin when the pale espada had his version of shock plastered on his face. The shock was barely noticeable on Ulquiorras face but everyone who knew the straight faced 4thcould tell he wasn't unaffected by what the albino had just said.

"Who are you?" Said espada asked.

"**Shiro, Ichigos hollow." **Shiro answered forgetting that on the outside he was supposed to called Ichigo Mugetsu.

"Ichigo Kurosaki?" asked the blonde who'd currently been quiet.

"**Yep that him." **The hollow beamed proudly at Mugetsu.

"I told you I'm called Mugetsu." Protested the black haired teen.

"**Well your friends aren't around at the moment so it doesn't matter."**Shiro argued.

"You were they boy Aizen-sama was going to send one of us to review in a few weeks." Murmured the only female voice in the room ignoring the small argument between Mugetsu and Shiro.

"Guess that won't happen now." Mugetsu paused, "So what are you all going to do now?"

"Expirements." A pink haired espada grinned.

"Fight!" Roared Grimmjow and creepy looking espada in unison.

"Sleep." Slurred a male voice.

"Advance." A deep voice said.

"No! We're going out hunting." A high pitched voice argued.

"Basically the same thing." The lower voice replied.

"Meditate." A low calm voice said.

"Observe trash." Ulquiorra murmured.

"Eat." A brutish voice growled.

"Leave with my fraccion." The blonde said receiving a few glances from others.

"Take my place as king of Hueco Mundo." An old man declared giving the woman a threating glance. The glance Mugetsu noticed and couldn't help but wonder if he could aid the blonde in some way. Maybe she could move to the world of the living if she didn't stay here. He'd never meet her during the time he previously came to Las Noches but she appeared to be the type who'd prefer no bloodshed.

"Is that all Kurosaki?" Grimmjow sneered as he began to get up.

"I'm not Aizen you know, you can do whatever." Mugetsu said as he turned to the albino who was currently leaning on a white pillar as he stared at the equally white celling. "Now why are you out?"

"**Bored and I want a fight with someone while you do whatever." **The hollow looked over to Grimmjow who as always looked ready to take anyone on.

"Fine, just don't destroy too much." Mugetsu agreed as he materialised Tensas zanpakuto for Shiro and handed it to him. The instant the blade touched the hollow it turned from its usual black into a bright white.

"**Could have done that myself king." **Shrio observed the blade while murmuring, **"Never thought I'd hold this blade again."**

"Before we all leave, could you tell us what happen to Gin-sama and Tosen-sama?" asked the old man as he and the others rose from their chairs.

"They'll probably be going on trial, Tosen will probably be executed but I'm not sure about Gin." Mugetsu announced and with that they all began to casually leave the room. After all there was no hurry, they had no duties that needed doing, they only had to do what they wanted and they could do that whenever they wanted.

"**Oi, Grimmjow!"** Shiro called as he ran after the blue haired espada with Tensa in hand, **"Fancy a fight?"**

"Whatcha asking for?" Grimmjow roared back and Mugetsu could just imagine the grin on the maniacs face at the idea of a battle. Mugetsu knew they'd started when he felt Grimmjows spiritual pressure spiking each time he clashed with Shrio. The pair had taken the fight to the throne room and Mugetsu guess that when he next visited it there would be nothing less to suggested it was ever a room meant for a 'ruler'.

Mugetsu waited for the others to fill out the room and then waited a while longer until he went to visit the only female espada with his offer.

~/~

Mugetsu had waited what he believed to be a long time and had set out in the direction of the woman's spiritual pressure. He only managed to follow it thanks to the help of both Tensa and Chouko who were directing him around the building in ther direction of the designated spiritual pressure.

When he reached what he guessed was her room he gave his thanks to Tensa and Chouko before knocking on the door.

"Enter," said the voice of the woman he'd followed. Slowly Mugetsu opened the door to see four girls in the room. The one he recognised was sat alone on a big white bed while the other three were positioned on different sides of the room.

"Who's he?" the three asked in unison and then proceeded to scowl at each other. It appeared they were about to have an argument for no apparent reason but their leader silenced them.

"Kurosaki Ichigo, what do you want?" she asked in a calm manner but there was an edge to her voice that Mugetsu assumed was to do with the old espada. Her aqua green eyes game him a calculating gaze as if she was trying to figure out why he was here before he announced it.

"You said you wanted to leave here right?" She nodded at him, "Well I thought you might want to live in the world of the living."

"Why would you think that?"

"Because of the way that old espada was giving you death stares. And it'll be pretty hard to find your using spiritual pressure, the place I'm taking you has too much of it." Mugetsu said bluntly which caused worried expressions to filter over her fraccions faces.

"Harribel-sama did he do anything-" the fraccion with a single horn centred on her head began but was cut off.

"He did nothing don't worry," Harribel soothed to her worried fraccion before returning her attention to Mugetsu, "I believe we will accept your offer to leave. Things for us here are unpredictable and I would rather not need to fight needless battles with the others."

"We'll be going…" Mugetsu sensed for Shiro and Grimmjow, who were just about finished in their battle, "in a second. I'm waiting for Shiro to finish."

'Shiro are you done yet?'

Pause.

'**Yeah I am now thanks for the battle kingy.' **Shiro replied breathlessly and Mugetsu felt the familiar feeling of Shiro returning to his body.

"We can go now." Mugetsu said to the four arrancars who all nodded, three of which had small smiles on their faces. Materialising Shiro Mugetus told him to direct the garganta to Uraharas basement. The albino opened the garganta and Mugetsu jumped into it and was soon followed by the four female arrancar.

"Just to let you know, we'll be landing in a Shinigamis basement!" Mugetsu called back to them, he continued before they had the chance to panic, "He won't attack you he was exiled from the soul society and we're only going there so we can get some gigias."

"You best be right." Harribels voice was calm but there was a sharp edge to it that warned Mugetsu not to cross her.

"I am. Uraharas a decent guy," Mugetsu muttered, "when he's not trying to kill you."

* * *

><p>I was pretty stuck when it came to what Ulquiorra would to without Aizen cause what the hell does the guy do when he's not doing Aizens bidding? apart from drink tea.<p>

If they don't call Gin an Tosen with the sama at the end I'm sorry I just couldn't remember whether they added that on the end or used something else :L

I guess 'Mugetsu' and Harribel will start becoming friends of sorts, there won't be romance between them though.

By the way I'm just wondering do Arrancars still need to consume souls? Cause they're hollows so I guess they would but the idea of it's never suggested unless you count Yamis obsessive food eating.

Next time: Integrations


	9. Integrations

Thanks for all the reviews guys, hope you all enjoy :D

I own none of the rights to bleach, that goes to Tite Kubo

'_**Chouko'**_

'**Shiro'**

'Tensa'

Integrations

* * *

><p>They appeared in the giant cellar of Uraharas shop. The place had apparently been completely empty until they'd arrived.<p>

"This is a basement?" Asked the fraccion with long olive green hair as she and the others took in the enormous room.

"Not all basements are like this. Only this one because Urahara made it." Mugetsu said as he looked around remembering all the times the shop keeper had tried to kill him in this room, while claiming it was training. "I don't think I properly introduced myself, the names Mugetsu or Kurosaki Ichigo but here it's best to call me Mugetsu."

"Cyan Sung-Sun." Said the girl who'd spoken earlier. She had long olive green hair that went past her shoulders and a block fringe decorated with a hollow mask version of a hair clip. Her lavender eyes were framed by long eye-lashes and below her right eye were three pink dots. The clothes she wore comprised of a long white dress with long sleeves that extended well past her hands and with a single slit in each one. Around her waist lay two thin belts that criss-crossed over each other. A final touch was a furry black necklace around her next just above the top of her dress collar.

"Emilou Apacci." The girl with the hollow horn on her head sighed. She had short black hair which reached just below her jaw, making her overall tomboyish appearance remind Mugetsu of Tatsuki. Her eyes were both different colours, the right one was a cool ice blue while the other was in complete contrast as it was a burning amber with a red outline around it. The clothes looked similar to the standard arrancar grab but with a few customisations. The sleeves were now shoulder length with black cuffs and white gloves covered her hands halfway to her elbow. The neckline was cut down into a V-shape instead of it reaching up to the base of her neck.

"Franceska Mila-Rose." The last fraccion said. The fraccion reminded Mugetsu of Rangiku in a way. What with her equally large breasts that were just covered by a corset of sorts with her hollow hole lying just below the bottom of it. There was also decoration wrapped round the tops of her arms as well as plain white cuffs around her wrists. Her bottoms were a pleated-ish skirt that reached to just above her knew with a small slit at the side. Heeled black boots covered her feet with a white bone-like thick necklace that was part of her hollow mask while the rest lay on her head. Thick wavy brown that hung down way past her shoulders and was decorated with the other part of her hollow mask which formed a three section crown. Mila-Rose also had green eyes which combined with her dark skin and outfit gave her the look of an amazon warrior.

"I believe you already know me, I'm Tier Harribel." Harribel said from beneath her high risen white collar. Apart from the short jacket that covered to just below her well-proportioned upper half and the whole of her arms Harribels outfit was normal to that of the other espada. There was no trace of her hollow mask and Mugetsu assumed that it was under her jacket. She also had tanned skin similar to Mila-Rose as well as blonde eye-lashes and messy short blonde hair that was pulled into three braided locks. Beneath some of the blonde hair that covered her face Mugetsu could just make out her two bright aqua green eyes that were staring down at him. Unlike her fraccion Harribels zanpakuto lay sideways across her black in a pink scabbard while the others all held theirs or had them attached to their waist.

"I guess we should go find Urahara for some gigais." Mugetus turned to walk towards the stairs but stopped when Mila-Rose yelled something to him.

"Why would we want gigais? It's a stupid idea to want to be seen by humans." Mila-Rose sneered causing Sung-sun and Apacci to roll their eyes at her.

"Do you have to argue about everything!" Apacci roared at Mila-Rose clearly wanting to hurry up.

"I was only asking what the point in it was! You don't need to argue with me about it unless you're scared about something Apacci." Taunted Mila-Rose.

"Why would I be scared, you're the one who's stalling!" Apacci snarled as she and Mila-Rose began glaring at each other.

"Would you please stop bickering, both of you. When you raise your voices like that, it only makes you look weak." Sung-sun chilled as she silently giggled behind her hand.

"Why you!" both the arguing girls turned on Sung-sun but before they could continue Harribel make a slight small cough which brought them all out of their argument.

"Sorry, Harribel-sama." They all said together and received a small inclination of the head from their leader before Mugetsu continued.

"The gigas we'll be getting will surpress your spiritual pressure as well as make it so that people can see you. We'll talk about the details of it all later." Mugetsu explained as he continued walking to the giant staircase. "Come on we best go see Urahara."

They all followed Mugetsu silently to the stairs and then all proceeded upwards. They exited the trapdoor and walked out into the front of the shop where the owner of the shop stood wearing his usual long green coat and hat as well as his wooden clogs.

"Oh my, I do believe I have some rather unusual visitors." Grinned Urahara as he wafted his fan in front of his face. "What can a simple shopkeeper like me do for you today?"

"Cut the idiocy Urahara we're here for some gigais." Mugetsu sighed, "And no way are we paying, you owe me for almost killing me more times than I want to remember."

"Ichigo! How nice to see you again, our first meeting was short lived and I see since then you're acquired some new friends." Urahara sang as he peered round Mugetsu at the four arrancar.

"It's Mugetsu now. I'm just helping them, they needed somewhere to go and I said here. They won't cause trouble." Mugetsu smirked as the fraccion fidgeted behind him.

"Mugetsu…that makes sense." Urahara mused before agreeing, "Sure I'll give you all some gigais, free of charge of course. As for accommodation I'm sure we can find somewhere, but you'll have to stay with them Ich-Mugetsu."

"We don't require a keeper." Harribel murmured from beside Mugetsu.

"It's not the fact you need a keeper move of it's easier to find a place for you all to stay as a single group." Urahara reasoned before yelling, "Tessai!"

"Yes boss!" The kido master appeared kneeing in the doorway behind the fraccion causing them to jump.

"Get me five supressing gigais for these lovely customers!" Urahara called to the obedient helper as he disappeared out the door. Urahara turned his attention back to Mugetsu and his group, a smirk visible under his pulled down hat, "Now about how this is going to work…"

~/~

**1 hour later**

"You're apartments just a few blocks away, use this map to find it." Urahara said handing Harribel a map as they all stood outside his shop in the cool night. Apparently the shopkeeper had brought the apartment knowing that Mugetsu would come back. After telling them all that him and the three fraccion would have to attend Katakura high Mugetsu could have face palmed. The three weren't the most subtle people what with their constant fights but apparently there was no way out of it. And it would appear suspicious if the three girls didn't go to school.

Harribel on the other hand would be getting a job instead of going to school. At first the silent espada declined saying it would be a waste of her time and there was no need for it. But Urahara managed to persuade her too that it was the only way they'd be able to stay as they needed money. Thus after a quick phone call Harribel was apparently now a model for a small time clothes magazine. That was how Urahara managed to persuade her, as he said she was only required to do a few shoots a week.

With the accommodation and occupations sorted one of the last thing they'd all had to discuss was the consuming of souls. Because espada didn't have to feed as often as regular hollow they'd all decided that Harribel and her fraccion could live on the hollows which appeared in Katakura town. But they would only be allowed to deal with a few so not to raise suspicion.

Finally there was the gigais. There'd been no problem acquiring the faux bodies as Urahara had already had five made. They'd all obviously gone into separate rooms to go into their new bodies and change. The arrancars all looked the same as they had before except they no longer had the hollow holes nor did they have the pieces of their masks. The marks on Apaccis and Sung-suns faces were still there as was Apaccis different coloured eyes.

Of course the one thing they'd all changed was their clothes.

Sung-sun wore a long dress similar to her arrancar uniform except the arms didn't cover her hands and the length of it just touched below her knees. The dress was white in colour with purple flowers embodied almost all over it, but not so much that there were too many. Around the waist there lay two thin purple belts with white rims that criss-crossed each other. Finally the dress had a v-neck that was rimmed in purple and finished off with black pumps.

Apaccis outfit was simple. She wore a pair of dark skinny denim jeans which were tucked into a pair of flat black boots. A long white top was covered by an equally long grey coat.

Harribel had a must less revealing outfit on than she had previously. Her legs were clad in a pair of white skinny jeans with black heeled shoes covering her feet. She also wore a plain white top that had a thin black belt going round her waist and a normal length aqua green fitted jacket. The former third espada also had a white bag that contained all of their 'documents' for moving in, school, Harribels job ect.

Mugetsu however, still had overly long black hair which covered his rusty red eyes. The clothes he'd chosen were just like what he used to wear. A dark blue hooded jacked was worn over a white top as well as a pair a skinnies that trailed down into an everyday pair of trainers. His acquired muscles were evident in what he wore and the long hair that he'd kept was down to the middle of his back. They were unable to cut his hair as it would grow back as soon as it was cut so Mugetsu would have to live with the long hair forever. Unseen because of the clothes were the black markings that stretched across his left arm from acquiring the Final Getsuga Tensho.

"There's more clothes for you all at the apartment as well as the school ones." Urahara said before he started to wave them off in a cheery manner, "Now you best be going, I'll probably see you all soon. In the meantime keep a low profile, if you can manage it."

"Thanks Urahara," Mugetsu said as the others walked away, "but if you tell anyone, I'll personally come to deal with you."

"So cruel Mugetsu," Urahara cried dramatically whisking out his fan before indicating for Mugetsu to go. With a final wave Mugetsu left the crazy shop owner and caught up with the others and they all sped towards their new home.

* * *

><p>Aww, it seems so happy at the moment XD won't last for long I don't think. The outfit I was attempting to describe for IchigoMugetsu was the one he worse when he first ran into Ginjo, not the white one. Sorry if this chapter was a bit boring cause of all the description but there'll be less next time cause there's not much need for loads :)

Next time: A Normal Day….


	10. A Normal Day…

Thanks for all the reviews guys I love them, hope you all enjoy :D

In advance I apologise for my lack of knowledge of Japanese schools. I did attempt to look it up but well you'll see how that went :P

Almost forgot to add, they're all acting familiar-ish with each other because they live together.

I own none of the rights to bleach, that goes to Tite Kubo

_**'Chouko'**_

'**Shiro'**

'Tensa'

A Normal Day….

* * *

><p><em><strong><span>'Guess what day it is Ichi-ni!'<span>**_

**'Kid, do you have no sense of time?'**

_**'Course I do.'**_

'Then why are you waking us up at 4:00 in the morning?'

_**'Urmm…' **_

'….sleep….'

'If you'd woken him up then we'd be in for it, go back to sleep child.'

_**'O-okay Tenny-chan.'**_

And with that small interruption of Mugetsus sleep on his first day back at Katakura High School, the spirits in his mind went back to their slumber for a few more hours. Unfortunately it was too many hours.

~/~

**Mugetsus home, 8:30am**

"CRAP! We're going to be late!" Roared Mugetsu as he pulled on the familiar uniform he'd found on his desk along with other school things, courtesy of Urahara.

"What's all the yelling for it's the morning!" A voiced ranted back at the long black haired dashed out of his room and into the body of said voice. Apacci was not happy with that. She could deal with living with a Shinigami, but would not tolerate him crashing into her like she wasn't there.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" She yelled in his face, thankful they hadn't been sent flying onto the floor.

"We're going to be late! It's the first day back to so go get ready!" Mugetsu ordered pushing her in the direction of her room, only to receive a hard punch that sent him flying down the hallway and into the kitchen/living room.

"Don't order me about." Apacci growled as she strode into the room she shared with Sung-Sun and Mila-Rose. They'd been living in their current accomidation for about two days and found it creepy how the shopkeeper had known to have three bedrooms in the house they shared. Alas the creepy, green hat wearing man had failed to acquire more than one bathroom for them. Mugetsu had to wait until midnight last night before he could use the shower for 5 minutes. And now they were running late.

"Good morning, Ichigo." The ladylike voice of Sung-Sun called from the table as she sat drinking tea, evidently ready to leave.

"It's Mugetsu and, uh…hey." Mugetsu replied still getting used to how completely different all the fraccion were. Just after he spoke the argumentative voices of Apacci and Mila-Rose broke out from down the hallway.

"If they're not careful they'll wake up Harribel-sama." Sung-Sun said calmly as she got up and put the empty cup on the side. She picked up a small bundle from the counter and then put it away in her bag which she hung on her shoulder.

"You best be ready, she'll be kicking us all out the house soon." No further prompting required Mugetsu grabbed a piece of toast and went to put on his shoes.

He'd just put them on when a mass amount of spiritual pressure came pressing down on everyone, even Mugetsu could feel it.

"You should be gone, not arguing over pointless things." The voice wasn't raised but Mugetsu and Sung-Sun could still hear it from the front door. There was a threatening edge to it which was enough to send the two offending fraccion shooting down the hallway.

"We're sorry Harribel-sama!" The flurry of black and brown hair called as the came darting past Mugetsu and Sung-Sun. Sensing the simmering reiatsu was about to come round the corner Mugetsu pulled the door open and with the fraccion at his heels they all jumped out into the street. As they hit the floor they heard a soft click as the door shut.

"It's scary when she doesn't yell." Commented Sung-Sun who was smirking at the other twos horrified expression.

"All your fault, Apacci." Mila-Rose muttered.

"It was-" Apacci attempted a retort but Mugetsu cut her off.

"We don't have time for this! We're late as it is. They're probably going into assembly now." Mugetsu sighed, they were supposed to be introduced in the assembly and as much as he wanted to miss it they'd get off to a bad start with everyone if they did.

"Well how'd suggest we get there in the next few seconds?" Mila-Rose smirked before starting to stroll down the street.

_**"I can give you all a lift!" **_Squealed a familiar childlike voice from Mugetsus back. Chouko was plaiting his hair. Again.

"You can?" He asked her ignoring the girly plaits that were taking over his hair at a startling rate.

_**"Sure I do Ichi-ni! Three. Two. One. GO!"** _Cried the purple haired girl as a purple bubble surrounded Mugetsu and the fraccion immersing them in a bright light in the process.

~/~

**Katakua High, Backstage Main Hall 8:40**

The light cleared from their eyes and they found themselves to the side of a well-lit stage. There was currently someone on stage droning on about some nonsense that the group weren't paying attention to. They were busy recovering from their sudden transportation.

"What the hell! Chouko give warning next time." Mugetus scowled at the child that stood before them.

_**"I did give warning."**_ The girl said innocently before disappearing. Apacci was about to demand that Mugetsu bring the girl back out before them but at that moment a student appeared.

"What're you four doing here? You should be in your seats." They chastised, clearly a member of the student council as Mugetsu recognised the armband.

"We're the new transfers." Sighed Mugetsu. Surprise lit up in the students face as he nodded and walked on the stage to whisper something to the person who was currently talking. The person looked over at them and then nodded before announcing something. Running back over to them the boy ushered them onto the stage muttering something about being introduced and that they shouldn't have been late in the first place. Not that they paid any attention.

"And here are the new transfer students that will be join class 2-B!" The girl on stage roared enthusiastically, waving for them to come on. Reluctantly Mugetsu, Apacci, Mila-Rose and Sung-Sun walked onto the centre of the stage.

The crowd was quiet when they walked on. But soon there were whispers as people caught sight of the extraordinary group that walked on. There were even gasps in the crowd making Mugetsu mentally face palm.

"So if you could all introduce yourselves," called the enthusiastic host as she darted over to them, microphone in hand.

"Zangetsu Mugetsu." He said into the microphone earning a few screams from the girls. Sighing Mugetsu searched the crowd for his past self. There he was sat in his usual place and of course scowling up at Mugetsu, just what he needed.

"Anything else to add Mugetsu-san?" Prompted the host silently.

"No."

"And what about you lovely girls?" She grinned appearing next to Apacci with the microphone. Mugetsu tuned out of the rest of the introductions only paying attention when it was time to get off the stage. Which he was thankful for.

"What was the point in that?" Growled Mila-Rose, "You made us rush just for that?"

"Not turning up would make us on the number one teacher hate list." Mugetsu scowled at her, "I'm sure Harribel wouldn't be too happy either."

"Why you-"

"Don't argue its un slightly." Sung-sun cut in interrupting Mila-Rose which only ended up making her more enraged. The amazon like girl opened her mouth as she was about to start an argument with the olive haired fraccion, but she was stopped by the appearance of a familiar person.

"What're you doing here?" asked the soul reaper Ichigo from behind them.

"Shouldn't you be listening to the assembly?" Sung-sun sighed though clearly recognising that this was Mugetsus younger self. The girl had to stop herself from laughing at the power difference in the two.

"What? Wait you can see me?" Scowled Ichigo, noticing the smirking fraccion.

"Ignore her, look I said before I'm not here for trouble. I'm here to help if you can't handle things." Mugetsu said honestly as he smiled at the brashness of his younger self. Back then he'd just wanted to protect his friends, he still did of course but there was more at stake even with Aizen gone. And he had a feeling the Arrancar he left in Las Noches wouldn't stay quiet. Of course he'd leave some of them to Ichigo, after all he needed to get stronger. Then there was the matte of all the other events that would happen, he wouldn't directly interfere but he'd be around to aid if needed.

"What things?" Ichigo asked annoyed with how cryptic Mugetsu was being. The question remained unanswered as Mugetsu along with the others had already begun to walk away.

"You'll see." He called out as they left the backstage area and proceeded to their classroom.

~/~

The rest of their day comprised of normal lessons which they could all handle.

Hollow appearances which they could handle, but left to the others.

Socialising with the people around school they could handle. To an extent.

Being bombarded with questions all day about where they came from among other things were something that got on their nerves, not some much Mugetsu more of the arrancar who'd barely interacted with humans before. They'd gotten so fed up with the repeated questions Mugetsu had to drag them out to the field at lunch before they lost it. The cool down didn't take long as they spent most of it chasing Mugetsu round the field with plastic swords which Chouko had made them. The swords were visible to humans so it didn't look completely strange from a distance, that was until Harribel appeared in front of them.

"I see you're all enjoying yourselves." She said before turning to Mugetsu, "Ichigo we have a small problem."

"It's Mugetsu. What is it? The arrancar?" Mugetsu quizzed grabbing a soul pill from his pocket, hoping it wasn't the arrancar.

"No, I don't know what it is but something's been feeding on the souls of humans and it's not a hollow." Harribel said holding her hand up to stop him changing forms.

"Oh, it's the bounts. You don't need to worry about them they won't be able to find us." Mugetsu dismissed putting the candy back in his pocket as Harribel disappeared. With Harribel gone the group resumed their lunch, eating the food which Sung-Sun had made that morning while they'd all been asleep.

"We're going out hollow hunting today Ichigo." They said in unison when they'd finished eating. Glaring at each other as they put the lunchbox's away.

"It's Mugetsu, how many times have I got to tell you guys? Anyway just make sure you keep out of trouble." Mugetsu sighed regretting letting them call him Ichigo for the duration of their first two days.

Soon after finishing their lunch they were joined by Ichigo and a few of his friends, including Ishida. The Quincy could still somehow detect their spiritual pressure even with the faux bodies concealing their spiritual pressure. He'd have to have a word with Urahara about that later. They all talked for a while until the bell went to signal the end of lunch and the day resumed.

~/~

The remainder of the day went well. Other students still bothered them but they'd learnt to deal with it knowing it would pass. When they were leaving Mugetsu decided to give Ichigo a brief warning about the bounts.

"Ichigo," he called his would be double over, "If I were you I'd keep an eye out for disturbances, and go see Urahara."

"What's this about?" Ichigo asked the empty space where Mugetsu had been, "Why does he always do that?"

Mugetsu and the fraccion walked home. It wasn't a long walk and throughout the whole of it Mugetsu felt as if someone or something was watching him. The likely answer was that it was Ishida but there wasn't the same familiarity he recognised as Ishidas spiritual pressure. This one was foreign and was thankfully not hollow-like. The others seemed to notice it too, their stances became more defensive and they appeared more on alert.

Nothing happened. Nothing appeared. Nothing tried to attack them. The presence simply disappeared.

~/~

**Seireitei, Research and Development Lab**

"I've got data coming in saying there's lots of high level hollow reiatsu in the area, along with some other unidentified reiatsu!" Rin called as she read the terrifying high reiatsu levels on the screen.

"Have you checked the data?" Hiyosu sighed.

"Checking now….The data is right! We need to tell the captain." Rin confirmed.

"Here's Lieutenant Kurotsuchi, go tell her." Hiyosu said before returning to his work.

"Umm, Lieutenant Kurotsuchi there's been significant high hollow reiatsu in Katakura town. It's above the level of a Vasto Lorde!" Rin said bowing to the Lieutenant who showed no sign of alarm at the news.

"I shall inform the Captain." Was all the Lieutenant said before walking out of the room quickly.

~/~

**Katakura, Mugetsus House, Evening**

The arrancar had gone out hunting for stray hollows leaving Mugetsu alone in the house. Unfortunately he wasn't completely alone. His spirits had decided to manifest themselves complaining that they'd been ignored too much lately.

"You should talk to us more Ichigo," Tensa said from his position lounged on the sofa.

"**It's boring with just those two for company!" **Shiro complained from the other sofa, his eyes half open.

**_"That's not nice Shrio-chan!"_ **Chouko wined from her usual position in Mugetsus hair as she was re-plaiting it.

"I can't talk to you when I'm in school," Mugetsu sighed, having repeated himself for the third time. "And that takes up most of my time."

"You should find time for us, after all you're talking to us now aren't you?" Tensa murmured.

"I guess, so what do you guys want to do?"

_**"Humm, can we play a game of tag?" **_Chouko pleaded from his back. The other two shook their heads furiously but Mugetsu decided to indulge the girl and agree with her request.

"Sure we can, who's it?" Mugetsu asked as he swallowed a soul candy and left his body.

_**"Shiro-chan!" **_Chouko cried jumping off Mugetsus back and running to the door.

"**Nooo," **Shiro moaned, **"I'm not a kid kingy so I'm not playing this shit game."**

"You have to idiot, or do you want her to lock you in a cage again. Like she did after the game of poker you cheated in." Tensa muttered as he got up and walked to the door.

"**Damn brat." **Shiro cursed, **"Fine I'll play, you get a 5 second head start."**

"Stay in the house." Mugetsu ordered the soul in his body before he shunpoed out the house with Tensa and Chouko.

Let the game begin.

* * *

><p>Well there we have it, wonder what's in store for them all now…<p>

Thanks for reading

Next time: Bount Arc: Missing Souls


	11. Bount Arc: Missing Souls

Warning in advance this is a pretty short one. Just couldn't get enthusiastic about it =/

First I just wanna say I'm sorry for spelling karakura town wrong cause I tend to spell it how I say it so the spellings gonna be changing from here, I won't be going back and changing it because it's pointless for me to re-upload all the chapters and change it when I could be writing. Thanks for pointing it out Aftonen.

Anyway on with my longest authors note yet, I think…

I've been meaning to add something to do with parings and stuff but I keep forgetting :L

So hopefully this'll answer a few questions.

This isn't a harem fic, it just kinda ended up that way. I thought it would be good to have an espada leave with Mugetsu as it's going to create some problems later, so I chose Harribel because she's the one who doesn't like fighting and therefore has a reason to leave Hueco Mundo. And because it was Harribel leaving she would obviously take her fraccion with her.

As for pairings… probably won't be any, things may be suggested but other than that nothing will happen.

If anyone has any questions, just ask :)

I own none of the rights to bleach, that goes to Tite Kubo

_**'Chouko'**_

'**Shiro'**

'Tensa'

Bount Arc: Missing Souls

* * *

><p>~~

**Unknown Location**

"Be careful next time feathers." A low voice growled to the man sat in front of him.

"Well I didn't think he'd be that sensitive, and my name isn't feathers." The man replied in a calm voice, a slight ruffling sound echoed behind him was the only indication or his aggravation.

"Don't start again you two, you'll draw attention to us." Another voice called from behind them his face obscured by the darkness.

"We have orders to watch them, its best they don't notice until the right time." A low rumble called from the doorway the person had just entered.

"You're back, my turn to watch then? They're dealing with the bounts currently aren't they?" 'Feathers' asked as he walked to the door, grabbing his large two handed sword in the process and slinging it on his back.

"Yes, only they've not yet acted upon this. Their behaviour is strange…" mused the low voice as he walked further into the room and hung his tall weapon on the rack, and then took his place in an old tattered armchair.

"Good luck feathers, don't get caught." The first voice taunted.

~/~

**Mugetsu, Katakura Town**

They'd been living in Karakura town for just less than a week. Ichigo and everyone else had gotten used to the idea of having them around so everything was just as Mugetsu wanted it. The Bounts had appeared less than a day ago but there was no need for panic. Ichigo had already encountered Yoshino and her doll so Rukia had appeared back at school. The petite soul reaper had questioned Mugetsu about the arrancar he kept company with, well she didn't know they were arrancar as she assumed they were just people like Orihime and Chad. She'd asked about the Bounts, wondering if he would help them deal with them. Which he disagreed to, saying he'd only help is it was truly necessary. He knew that Ichigo and everyone else could handle them so he planned to leave them to it.

But things never went to plan.

The Bounts had found out about Mugetsu and those who lived with him. At first they'd been ignored but since they saw him with Ichigo they'd been a pain in their side. The soul reaper who was with them paid them a few visits trying to find out what their part was when it came to the Bounts and Soul Society. Every time he'd come round it'd been the same thing. He'd begin asking questions and Mugetsu would give him a few cryptic answers before getting him to leave. There were a few protests but the appearance of the arrancar silenced the protests and he left.

"Why do they keep bothering us? Isn't it obvious that we're not going to help Ichigo?" Growled Apacci after the door had shut on the shinigami again.

"Why aren't be going to help him? After all he is you isn't he Mugetsu," Sung-Sun asked eyeing Mugetsu Curiously.

"He won't need my help with this, I did it fine the first time so all we need to do is keep an eye on other things." Mugetsu said as he collapsed onto the sofa sinking into its softness. It's been a long day, more hollows had appeared then normal and he'd also been attempting to chase down some unusual spiritual pressure, until it disappeared again.

It's been going like that for the past few days since the night he and his spirits played a game of tag, which Chouko had won in the end. While they'd all been running around they kept getting the feeling that something was watching them. But when either of them went to investigate the only thing they found was a pure white feather. It bothered all of them but there wasn't much they could do about it, he hadn't told the others because that wouldn't get them anywhere only make them all more alert than they already were.

"I'm going out, apparently I'm needed for a meeting." Harribel said appearing from round the corner her phone in hand. She grabbed her aqua coat and after putting her phone in one of the pockets she slipped it on.

"Will you be back for tea Harribel-sama or shall I put it in the fridge for later?" Sung-Sun asked the blonde espada as she put her black boots on.

"I won't be back, so keep it for later." And with that Harribel left the house genteelly closing the door behind her.

"I'll go start making tea then," Sung-Sun said as she walked to the kitchen. The sounds of pans and plates could be heard knocking together as the self-designated cook began to prepare a light meal.

Without a word Mila-Rose and Apacci left in the direction of their room to do things Mugetsu had no idea about. He was never sure what they did when they went to their room only that it ended up in an argument every time.

Mugetsu sighed not wanting to do the homework he'd been given that day, but it was better than being out fighting for his life. His Decision made Mugetsu made his way to his room and started doing the huge amount of homework he'd been given.

~/~

**A Few Hours Later**

It was the middle of the night when Mugetsu was awoken by a blast of spiritual pressure that was Ichigos.

'Looks like he's at the hospital with those water Bounts,' Mugetsu thought into his mindscape as he remembered that the Quincy hadn't been at school.

'You're going to leave him to it, right?' Tensa asked hinting for him to leave it be and go back to sleep.

'Course I am, but I'm going to go see what's going on.' Mugetsu replied as he rolled out of bed, grabbing the soul candy from his bedside table in the process. Popping the pill into his mouth Mugetsu ignored Tensa's protests that this was a bad idea and jumped out of the window.

The night was cool and the dark sky was free from clouds letting the stars shine brightly as he ran under them. Most of the town was dark and only a few lampposts lit the way for Mugetsu as he jumped from roof to roof on his way to the hospital, enjoying the peacefulness that hung over Karakura town.

When he reached the hospital the peace was gone, around one side of the building stood all the patients and staff who'd been in the building. They were all currently staring up a smashed window on the top floor while on the other side Ichigo and Renji were fighting against one of the two water familiars. If you could call it fighting that is.

Mugetsu watched as they struggled to take down the tall body of indestructible water even after Rukia fired a Kido spell at it. Smoke surrounded the group as the some of the water evaporated only to be replaced by more from the area around them. When Mugetsu could see them again he could have face palmed at how easily Ichigo and Renji got caught in separate cocoons of water. He noticed that Chad, Orihime and Ishida had yet to run away as they were too concerned about Ichigo, Renji and Rukia. But with a bit of yelling form Ichigo they trusted his judgement and left the grounds of the hospital not knowing the twins would be waiting for them.

The urge to aid his friends overtook Mugetsu and he turned to go help them. But someone stopped him. It was the presence he'd been feeling that past few nights and the person is belonged to. The figure was unidentifiable, a long black cloak covered him from head to toe and the dark hood was pulled up to cover its face. The only distinguishable features were a huge pair of white wings that hung from its back and a long two-handed blade that was slung across its back. The blade didn't appear to interfere with the wings as it seemed to hand between the wings.

"I thought you weren't going to interfere." The figure called in an obviously male voice. The voice was smooth and sang truth as it reached Mugetsu only making him more wary of the man before him.

"What's it to do with you?" Mugetsu growled as he materialised his thin bankai blade.

"No need for that," The figure sighed. "As for what it's to do with me, well I'd rather not need to take you in for meddling in the Soul Societies business. Else you may find those hollows you live with disappearing."

"Leave them out of it!" Mugetsu roared and lunged towards the winged man. All he hit was empty space as the figure had disappeared from view along with his spiritual pressure. A few words echoed in the air from multiple directions making it impossible for Mugetsu to follow the trail.

"Don't interfere next time, I don't want to have to ruin the lives you and your hollows have built."

Mugetsu looked down to where he'd been heading, only to find the place deserted. The stranger had distracted Mugetsu long enough to ensure he missed his chance to help. Ichigo had already caught up with the others to aid them and then the appearance of Ganju had resulted in the annihilation of the Bount twins.

'Who the hell was that guy!' Mugetsu fumed to his spirits.

'Ichigo you need to calm down, I did say not to go out and this was exactly why.' 

'You knew that guy would appear?'

'**No he didn't, just knew you'd try to save ya friends which you said you wouldn't do unless the other Ichigo couldn't handle it. Which you know that he could seeing how you've done this all before.' **Shiro chipped in for Tensas defence.

'Still haven't answered my question, who is he?' Mugetsu asked again slightly less annoyed with himself.

_**'He reminded me of an angel!'**_ Chouko giggled stating the obvious.

'**Nice stating the obvious kid.'**

'Ichigo we're as clueless as you are about him. His spiritual pressure was different, foreign. Until he appears again I can't be sure as to whom he is.'

'Does that mean you have a theory?'

'I have half a theory, but you can't hear it until I'm sure.' Tensa revealed.

'But if you have any-' Mugetsu began to argue but the hollow cut him off.

'**Kingy as much as I want to battle someone going in with practically no idea who you're attacking is the worst thing to do. Its best you forget about this for now, we don't really want him to appear again.'**

'Fine, but if he appears again I will find out who he is!' Agreed a reluctant Mugetsu as he cut the connection and returned home. The only thought raining through his mind was the hope that he would run into the strange figure again. How foolish of him.

* * *

><p>Sorry this was a pretty short chapter and if it was terrible, but I wanted to update and when it comes to the Bount Arc well I found it boring. Anyway I wanted to stick to the anime as much as possible so I kept it in.<p>

Desipte the possible crappyness, I hoped you all enjoyed reading.

Next time: Bount Arc: Interference


	12. Bout Arc: Interference

I suppose this is a short chapter, only about 1,200 words, without the notes and crap. So enjoy :)

I own none of the rights to bleach, that goes to Tite Kubo

_**'Chouko'**_

'**Shiro'**

'Tensa'

Bout Arc: Interference

* * *

><p>"Damnit! I forgot they kidnapped Ishida!" Mugetsu growled as he and the fraccion sat on the field eating lunch. It was the day after he'd attempted to help the others at the hospital, Ishida wasn't at school and everyone thought he was just too ill. But Mugetsu remembered that the Bounts had kidnapped him so they could get him to open a portal to the Soul Society. He had to find a way to get him back and damn it if anyone tried to stop him.<p>

"What you going to do about it then?" Sighed Mila-Rose who was currently lying out on the grass basking in the hot summer sun, her eyes firmly shut giving the impression she was asleep.

"Go get him back." Mugetsu replied bluntly.

"Thought you weren't going to interfere with events, Ichigo," Apacci smirked, looking up from one of her many magazines.

"It won't matter just for this, after all what's saving one Quincy going to do? It'll save the Seireitei being destroyed anway."

"What about that guy you ran into last night?" Sung-Sun quizzed as she began to back away their rubbish.

"I'll leave Chouko with you guys so he can't find you. And if he appears to stop me then I'll take him out." Mugetsu stated as he popped a soul candy into his mouth and turned into his Shinigami form. The bandageds were all still there as were the rippling reiatsu-like bottoms, only minus the tail.

"You're going now?" Mila-Rose raised an eyebrow her eyes still firmly shut.

"Yeah, I'll see you guys later," He materialised Chouko which the child seemed to be very happy about.

_**"Ichi-ni! It's nice to be out so early, so we playing a game of tag?"**_ The purple haired girl squealed in delight.

"Not right now, I need you to look after them," He indicated to the fraccion he was sat with, "Shield their spiritual pressure and prevent any people from harming them. Okay?"

_**"Only if you promise a game of tag later," **_She pouted.

"Sure, just make sure you do a good you." Mugetsu said as he gave her a hug ruffling up her hair as he pulled away.

_**"I'll do my best!" **_Chouko said, raising her fist in the air a declaration causing a small smile to stretch over Mugetsus face.

"I'll see you all later," He called as he leaped into the air and began running on the invisible reiatsu path he made.

~/~

**Unknown Location**

"You had to go engage him didn't you feathers?" Roared one of the four men in the room.

"He was going to interfere, I don't really want to kill him for interfering when it could be prevented. Although I wonder what his attachment to those humans and the substitute are…" 'Feathers' mused as he stared into the small fire they had going.

"It doesn't matter what he did, so long as the boy doesn't interfere we don't want to have to carry out our orders before we're supposed to." Rumbled a low voice from the weapon rack.

"Fine, but we'll have to begin soon enough-" Growled the first voice until his was cut off by a yell from the doorway.

"Someone's gone into spiritual form! It's my turn today right?" The low middle-eastern accented voice called as they appeared in the doorway, clad in a golden headdress which was perched on raven black shoulder length hair. A jewelled thick necklace hung from one shoulder to another while twin matching bands were wrapped round his upper arms and wrists. A gold and white sarong hung round his waist leaving the majority of his olive skin bare.

"Yeah, go fetch the bad person." Taunted the first voice.

"Do you have to do that to everyone?" Sneered the olive skinned man as he picked up a black and gold polearm slinging it on his back as he did so. "And do you ever bath? You stink or sulphur and 'them'."

"Speak for yourself pretty boy," He bit back but was ignored as the 'pretty boy' grabbed a ebony short-sword from the weapon rack, strapping it to his waist with a jewel encrusted belt.

"I'll go see what it's about." 'Pretty boy' said bidding goodbye to everyone as he began to walk out the room.

"What will you do if it's him?" 'Feathers' called.

"I'll do what you did." And with that the olive skinned man left the base, heading out towards the shinigami who was currently jumping across the sky.

~/~

**With Mugetsu**

He was jumping across the sky, heading towards the mansion that belonged to the Bouts when he felt it. It was one of them. They wouldn't stop him this time because he had a plan.

'You ready Shrio?'

'**Sure I am, all I gotta do is lead him away right?'**

'Yeah, thanks for doing this.'

"**No problem king." **Shiro called as he headed off in the direction of the strange spiritual pressure.

Mugetsu continued on towards the mansion for a few more minutes. The mansion was as big as you'd expect one to be. Trees decorated the area surrounding it obscuring the majority of the building from view. The iron gates were firmly shut but that didn't bother Mugetsu, he simply jumped over them. As he did so he felt another wave of spiritual pressure but it wasn't the strange one, it was a more familiar reiatsu. It was his. Well more like Ichigos, they must be attempting a rescue mission. A smirk crept onto his face as he remembered how that went; he and Rukia spent most of their time being chased by one of the Bounts moth-like dolls.

Quickly making his way past the trees Mugetsu landed in front of the main entrance. Knowing it wasn't the stealthiest thing to do he kicked down the front door sending it flying into the foyer, almost hitting Ishida in the process.

"Sorry to crash the party but I do believe you have one of my friends." Mugetsu called calmly through the dust.

"Mugetsu, who ever said I was your friend?" Ishida snorted from the other side of the room.

"Who are you?" Kariya questioned, his silhouette visible in the dust just before it was cleared away by a familiar gust of wind.

"Mugetsu, substitute shinigami."

"I was only aware of one substitute in this area," Kariya mused before turning to Koga, "I'll leave him to you."

"Right, Daruku lets go." The brown haired Bount called to the spider that was currently holding Ishida. A cruel smile twisted its way onto the metal spiders face as she let go of the Quincy and began charging at Mugetsu. While he was blocking the spiders strike a familiar voice floated through his mind, one he hoped would still be away.

'**Kingy we have a problem…'** Shiro trailed off, his voice uncertain.

'I'm guessing the 'genius' plan you came up with didn't work.' Tensa chipped in a smile in his voice.

'Not helpful Tensa, how long till he gets here?'

'**Now.'**

"I thought we told you not to meddle in the Soul Society's business, _Ajami__." _Sneered an accented voice from Mugetsus left.

* * *

><p>There were a few hints about who the mysterious people could be especially the guy at the end, they're not really OC's but real death gods so you might recognise them when they're all revealed.<p>

Instead of Ajami I would have used Gaijin which is basically the Japanese version of it but I wanted to keep in with the guys background – basically Ajami means "barbarian, non-what-ever-his-race-is" :P and Gaijin is Japanese for outsider.

Hope you all enjoyed this chapter, I had a bit more enthusiasm when writing it this time :D

Thanks for reading.

Next time: Bount Arc: Didn't Change A Thing


	13. Bount Arc: Didn't Change A Thing

Don't think I've got anything to explain this time… not that I can think of, nope. So enjoy :)

Remember any questions just ask

I own none of the rights to bleach, that goes to Tite Kubo

_**'Chouko'**_

'**Shiro'**

'Tensa'

Bount Arc: Didn't Change A Thing

* * *

><p>"Who the hell are you?" Mugetsu roared at the newcomer. The man had raven black hair which was mostly covered with a golden headdress, with a thick jewelled necklace and thing bands around his wrists and upper arms. Olive skin was completely bare apart from a white and gold sarong which hung on his hips accompanied by a short-sword. In his hand he held a long black and gold polearm which had a relatively big silver blade curved into an over-exaggerated crescent shape.<p>

"That, you don't need to know." Growled the man's heavily accented voice his yellow eyes glaring down at Mugetsu, "But I suggest you leave now, you've meddled enough. Or do you want us to go after those hollows you live with?"

"I'm here to help my friends, so don't lay a hand on them they've done nothing wrong." Mugetsu sneered back his eyes back on Ishida who was now half glaring at him thanks to the new information.

"How could you have made such a bond in short time? You've been here a few days and yet you want to risk your life and those you care about, for someone you've known for less than a week. Pitiful." The raven head spat, "But if you want it that way, I'll be happy to comply."

"Why you-" Mugetsu started but was cut off when the man charged towards him at a startling speed. Had he not been expecting the attack Mugetsu wouldn't have been able to block it and considering where the attack had been aimed he would have died instantly. The force that bore down on his reiatsu created sword was immense. It was way stronger than that of any other soul reaper he'd faced before, even his spiritual pressure was different in a way but still felt like a shinigamis. Who was this guy?

"Don't take my lightly like other soul reapers," His voice snarled from above Mugetsu. When had he got up there? "I'm different than the others."

"Damn it!" Mugetsu cursed as he blocked another forceful strike only to receive a kick to the gut. The kick sent him flying back out through the doors and onto the driveway of the mansion, making a decent sized crater in the process. Coughing Mugetsu heaved himself up brining Zangetsu back up ready for another attack, which didn't come from the expected direction.

Thanks to his newly acquired speed Mugetsu was able to block yet another deadly strike, only just. Some of the attack managed to hit, slicing though the flesh on his right arm. Mugetsu winced, the cut was deep, but not deep enough that he couldn't use the arm to attack, after all his hollow was letting him use its regeneration powers.

'**Can't…use…the...full…power…regeneration…' **Shiro coughed from the mindscape, apparently some of the injuries he'd received from the new enemy affected him even after returning to Mugetsu inner world.

'A little will be enough, thanks Shiro.'

'**Just don't lose king.'**

The man jabbed forwards with his pole, a different tact from what he'd been doing earlier so he was obviously going to do something. Mugetsu glanced down to the sword at his waist deciding it would be something to do with that.

He was wrong.

While Mugetsu was blocking the polearm his attacker pointed his other hand at the floor, muttering words Mugetsu didn't understand while doing so. After a second a black pool began swirling at Mugetsus feet. Hands stretched out of his. Dead, decaying hands reached out and towards him, threatening to pull him into the void.

"You might want to avoid being touched by them." The man said as he pulled back pushing Mugetsu towards the hole as he did so.

"Getsuga Tensho!" Mugetsu roared as he fell towards the hole, sending a giant arc of pure black reiatsu towards the ominous void. It cut straight across the middle slicing though the extending arms and through the floor behind them. Dust was kicked up by the massive attack obscuring the dark cavity from view. It also made it so the stranger couldn't see Mugetsu. Taking his chance Mugetsu charged to where Ishida had been. Only to find the Quincy was gone.

"He's gone, looks like you failed to do whatever it is you came here to do. Guess it's best you leave then." Called the stranger from within the floating dust, his silhouette just about visible as he strolled towards Mugetsu.

"Why would I leave?" Mugetsu demanded as he stormed aggressively at the shadow who's figure was yet to appear.

"If you stay, then it'll end badly. We won't have a choice but to act on our orders, you're becoming too much of a threat." The voice was fading as was the dark outline in the dust which was now beginning to settle.

As the dust settled Mugetsu looked around. He stood partway between the non-existent doors and the red carpeted stairs. The whole place was a mess, cracks had appeared in the walls that were now beginning to shake.

'Wait why are the walls shaking?'

'Have you forgotten again, you all destroyed this place with you battles while rescuing Ishida.'

'I guess that means I should leave…'

'**Nope king you should stay here and die as the building crushes you into oblivion.' **Shiro said dryly.

'I'm leaving.'

Mugetsu shunpoed to the door less entrance and out onto the driveway which also had a huge crater in it from where he'd been thrown. A deep line stretched towards the building from where he'd aimed his getsuga tensho as there was a gap in the middle of the top part of the doorframe.

The outside wasn't dark but the sun was setting. Casting shadows into the pits he'd created from his carelessness. He'd gotten too distracted with dealing with the stranger to try and stop the Bounts from persuading Ishida to help them get to the Soul Society. He'd have try talking some sense into the Quincy, like that would work now. Ishida would probably never trust Mugetsu again now that he knew Apacci, Mila-Rose and Sung-Sun were defiantly hollows. He'd likely tell Ichigo if he and his past-self became better friends. This could end badly.

But there was still the matter of these people that kept popping up and stopping him from helping. They said he was interfering as if he was the cause of all this. Why did they think it was him? And who were they? They were defiantly soul reapers but there was something….different.

The sounds of the mansion collapsing pulled Mugetsu from his thoughts and he watched as the giant building crumpled in on itself as if it was nothing more than a piece of paper. Mugetsu took a few steps back as some of the debris hit the floor sending waves of dust surfing towards him. Shielding his eyes from the dirt he partially turned away. The sensations of small particles of wood hit his face along with shards glass, slightly cutting his skin but not enough that it was noticeable.

Mugetsu glanced down at his right arm to check the damage. It wasn't fully healed as fresh blood was still dripping from one side, dipping down his arm as it did so and leaving a small puddle under it. Tensing his arm to test the damage Mugetsu winced. It was slightly worse than he thought. Not that a small cut would hinder him but it would be an annoyance for a few hours. He was about to shunpo away when he saw Ichigo and the others walking right towards him. He would have left right away but they had already seen him and he knew their way of thinking. If he left they'd think he was up to something.

"I thought I saw you kick down the door earlier, nice job." Ichigo said a slight smile on his face which soon turned back into a scowl, "Why're you here?"

"I came to save Ishida from the Bounts like the rest of you." Mugetsu replied.

"I don't need help from someone like you." Ishida ground out.

"What do you mean someone like me?" Growled Mugetsu as he started forwards, stopping himself as he knew it wouldn't make anything better after all they all didn't completely trust him.

"Your temper's as bad as Kurosakis." Ishida sighed as he pushed up his glasses, "And I mean someone who lives with hollows."

Instantly everyone went on the defensive, their eyes glaring at Mugetsu like he was a hollow.

* * *

><p>Thanks for reading :)<p>

Hope you enjoyed it, suppose not much happened in this one, only two chapters left of the Bount Arc I think. Don't forget to reivew

Next time: Bount Arc: So It Continues


	14. Bout Arc: So It Continues

I own none of the rights to bleach, that goes to Tite Kubo

_**'Chouko'**_

'**Shiro'**

'Tensa'

Bount Arc: So It Continues

* * *

><p>They all started at him intensely, their eyes boring into his skull with accusation.<p>

"You live with hollows?" The orange head asked in a slightly aggressive manner, reaching for his zanpakuto.

"Now wait a minute," Mugetsu snapped stopping Ichigo midway. "What makes you think I live with hollows? Some stranger who appeared from nowhere? It's not like you to trust strangers Ishida especially if they're soul reapers."

"How would you know my habits? You've only known me for less than a week, Mugetsu." Ishida said as he pushed his glasses up, giving Mugetsu a calculating gaze as he did so.

"You're easy to read." Mugetsu murmured as he looked towards Ichigo, expecting another question.

"If you don't live with hollows then what about those girls you live with? They can see spirits can't they?" Ichigo removed his hand from the hilt of Zangetsu, the decision made that Mugetsu wasn't an immediate threat.

"They're just spiritually aware, that's all." He said simply before giving them a slight smile, "Is that all? I said this before, I'm here to help."

"I guess so, sorry about that Mugetsu." Ichigo mirrored him, though his intrust still tainted his eyes.

'It's to be expected really, I wouldn't trust a guy who appeared from nowhere with soul reaper powers.'

'**You know king he is you, so… I think the reaction you're getting now is the best you've ever given to a stranger.'**

'What's that supposed to mean?'

'**You attack first and ask questions later?'**

'I don't do that!'

'I'll have to agree with the hollow on this, you do exactly that most of the time. Remember when Rukia appeared? You kicked her the first time you saw her.'

'You'd kick someone who came strolling into your house in the middle of the night!' Mugetsus brow twitched as his face caved into a scowl, the others gave him strange looks but Mugetsu didn't notice.

'**But she's not even a human! You should've realised that by the weird clothes you soul reapers wear.'**

'What're you talking about weird clothes! You hollows don't even wear clothes!' The scowl on Mugetsu face deepened.

'**So the espada don't wear clothes?' **Mugetsu could hear Tensa snickering in the background and he snapped.

"I wasn't talking about them and you know it! You're coming out here so I can beat you're ass!" Mugetsu unintentionally roared outside his mindscape causing the others to jump at his sudden outburst.

"**Don't be like that kingy, you hurt my feelings." **Shiro sighed dramatically cluctching his hands to where his heart would've been.

"You don't have feelings." Mugetsu smirked as he grabbed the hollow by the collar of its shihaksou, forgetting about the audience he had.

"Is that your zanpakuto? Because he looks like…." Ichigo trailed off not wanting to mention the hollow that lived inside him, waiting to take over his body with each passing day.

"Yeah this is my Zanpakuto…uh Shingetsu…" Mugetsu said deciding it best to pretend Shiro was his zanpakuto and playing ignorant to Ichigos almost mention of his hollow. He'd have to tell him to trust Shinji when they arrived, maybe Ichigo wouldn't leave it too long if someone told him to deal with it.

"Shingetsu, that's similar to Kurosakis isn't it?" Ishida probed hoping Mugetsu would make some kind of slip up. They needed to know who he was as they'd still no idea, even Kurosaki had just accepted the guy like it was nothing and that was unusual. There had to be something….

"**King whatcha-" **Shiro began but Mugetsu cut him off with a sharp glare.

"Be quiet, do you want them to know you're a hollow and I'm really Ichigo? Stupid hollow." Mugetsu hissed in a low whisper. He turned back to Ishida, Chad and Ichigo all whom were eyeing him and his 'zanpakuto' curiously, "Yeah I guess he is. Ichigo, could I have a word with you?"

"Sure, I'll see you guys at school," Ichigo called as he walked to Mugetsu, waving goodbye to Chad and Ishida as he did so. "So what was it that you wanted?"

"It's about your powers," Mugetsu started as he released Shiro and dematerialised him. Guessing Ichigo was about to say something he held up his can and continued, "Hear me out first as I don't have any of the answers you want. I just wanted to tell you that when a guy called Shinji appears, trust him."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ichigo asked, his temper started to rise at the cryptic words.

"Damn it, should've known you'd be like this. I can't tell you much, it's too risky for me. Just trust him when he asks you for something and don't leave it till later." Mugetsu sighed. He couldn't tell Ichigo everything without risking those strangers knowing. If they did then there'd be trouble and Harribel along with her fraccion would be the ones to pay. He didn't want others paying for his mistakes.

"I still don't-" Ichigo began but Mugetsu had already disappeared, there was barely a sign of the black haired guy in the distance so all thoughts of trying to catch up to him disappeared. "He did it again…"

~/~

It was dark when Mugetsu got back to the house. Everyone was asleep apart from Harribel who was still out at work. For someone who worked at such a small magazine she sure did work a lot. Apparently they'd become more popular since Harribel became one of their models.

Mugetsu got back into his body which he'd left on the sofa and began to walk to his room. The house was completely silent. Not a single noise made its way down the hallway, nor through the windows. Mugetsu was glad it was like this. The calm was different to how it'd been back during the war. He'd had little time over the past few days to think over the events, not that he wanted to.

The memories still haunted him, they always would. Even now when he saw all his friends he could see their deaths happening over and over again. Their bloodied broken bodies filling his mind like a waking nightmare. He never let it get to him though, because he knew that it wouldn't be like that this time. He'd make sure of that. But, he couldn't help but think that if he'd been stronger none of that would've happened. He wouldn't have turned into a rampaging hollow against Ulquiorra if he'd been stronger, if it'd been like that he would've been in time to save Chad, Rukia and Renji.

Even better would've been that he was stronger from the beginning. Had he been strong enough to take down Aizen when he defected on execution hill it would've ended there. Instead he'd been so easily cut down with a flick of the traitor's finger. Just thinking about how it could've been made Mugetsu boil with anger that was only aimed towards himself. Punching the wall by his door in frustration he cursed himself for being so pathetic. What was the point on dwelling on things that wouldn't happen anymore?

"Is there a reason why you're punching the wall, Ichigo?" The soothing voice of Harribel called from behind him.

"I…Just getting myself worked up over nothing." He dismissed as he reached for the handle of his bedroom door.

"If it were nothing you wouldn't be punching the wall." She said sternly making Mugetsu hesitate for a second. Without saying a word he opened the door and trudged into his room, silently shutting the door in a way that Harribel knew it was best to leave him.

"I do wonder who you are Ichigo, maybe on day you'll tell us." Harribel sighed before yawning and strolled off to her room.

"Maybe I will. If I don't screw this all up." Muttered Mugetsu after hearing what she said from the other side of the door. Leaning against the door Mugetsu slid down it towards the floor, and was soon sat with his back against the door.

_**"Don't be sad Ichi-ni. Nothing will go wrong."**_ Chouko said as she appeared nest to him, giving him a slight hug as she did so.

"What about those guys who keep appearing? They didn't appear last time and we know basically nothing about them." Mugetsu murmured returning the small girls hug, bringing her closer to his side as he put one arm over her shoulder. In a way the purple haired girl reminded him of his sisters, ones he'd never regain….

**"Didn't she tell you to stop being sad? You making it fuckin' pour it down with rain!" **Shiro hissed as he too materialised in front of Mugetsu.

"Sorry for actually having a heart!" Mugetsu snapped at the hollow. It was a low blow he knew that but he wasn't in the mood to take the moral high ground.

"**That-that was low…even for you king." **Shrio muttered, his eyes downcast before his disappeared just as quickly as he appear leaving an isolating chill lingering in the air.

_**"Ichi-ni why'd you upset Shiro-chan? He was only trying to help."**_ Chouko pouted expecting a response from her empathic master. A reply that didn't come. Turning her head at an awkward angle she looked up as his face. His eyes were closed in slumber, two twin streaks or tears marked his face acting as the only evidence he was hurting about something Chouko failed to understand on a certain level. She knew why he was upset but failed to understand _why_. Why was he upset about something he had the power to prevent? Why was he punishing himself for no reason?

_**"Why do you get sad so easily Ichi-ni?"**_ She sighed before snuggling closer to the steadily breathing body of Mugetsu also falling asleep.

~/~

**Unknown location**

"How was your game of fetch, dog?" sneered a sulphur smelling man.

"…"

"Don't be like that, I'm curious."

"I wonder how you pantheon managed to stand your, 'humour'." A middle-eastern voice bit back as he hung his weapons back on the weapons rack and took his place near the fire, opposite his sulphur smelling comrade.

"Well they didn't. I'm sure you know how my brothers tricked me into living where I live now." The man snarled and threw a glass he'd been holding, into the fire.

"Is the only reaction you're capable of rage?" A calm voice sang from the doorway.

"Great its feathers."

"Charming as always," the man wrinkled up his nose, "The sulphur in here is stifling, don't you ever wash?"

"What-" The man was about to go into a rage but was stopped by another who entered the darkened room.

"We're not here to argue, we have orders. What was Mugetsu up to?" the hooded figure rumbled as he materialised from one of the rooms many dark corners.

"He was trying to meddle again. I stopped him of course, which he wasn't very happy about. Not sure why. It's as if he knows something's going to happen…." Mused the man sat opposite the one who smelt of sulphur.

"When will he become more of a threat?"

"I guess he's already one."

"We're going to have to take him in soon." 'Feathers' chipped in.

"Who's going to do it?"

"You should, he already know me and feathers. Ragey over there is like a volcano and will kill the boy before he manages to bring him back here."

"Looks like you're right. I'll grab him this week."

* * *

><p>Looks like they're gonna grab Mugetsu D: why though? Find out next time maybe :P<p>

Can you guess who they are yet?

Will Mugetsu snap out of his pit of self-pity? He better!

Next time: Bount Arc: Gonna Getcha

Probably two chapters left of the Bounts then on with the next filler.


	15. Bount Arc: Gonna Getcha

Another chapter, Yay! Enjoy, any questions just ask :)

I own none of the rights to bleach, that goes to Tite Kubo

_**'Chouko'**_

'**Shiro'**

'Tensa'

Bount Arc: Gonna Getcha

* * *

><p>It was Thursday, much to Mugetsus displeasure. The half-asleep long haired soul reaper cracked open his eyes as he heard someone yelling on the other side of the door. Stretching caused his back to groan in pain as it had been in a fixed position against his door all night. He looked around the plain room. He hadn't bothered to decorate it as he didn't feel the need. He'd probably see if he could be a captain for the soul society when all everything had calmed down. The chance they'd accept him was low but there were ways of getting around it that the shady shop keeper would know of. Maybe the arrancar could join him if they got bored of the world of the living.<p>

"ICHIGO! GET UP RIGHT NOW!" Roared the voice of Mila-Rose as the headstrong arrancar procceded to kick down his door, (which he was still leaning against) sending him and the door flying. Mugetsu crashed onto his bed and landed in a heap while his door went sailing out the window in perfect synchronisation.

"What the hell was that for? You're as bad as my dad!" Mugetsu bellowed at the apparently angry brunette.

"Time to go." She ginned her whole persona changing causing Mugetsu to sweat drop.

"Was that all?" he asked rolling off his bed and walked over to his wardrobe. Pulling open the double oak doors Mugetsu pulled out a fresh school uniform.

"No, we all need to talk to you before we go." She added before strolling out the room.

Sighing Mugetsu quickly got changed, not caring that his room was currently doorless and his window was completely smashed. He'd have to get someone to fix that later. After he was changed he grabbed his school bag and walked down to where everyone was waiting.

The tension surrounding them was abnormally high as they all seemed worried about something. Harribel was the first to speak up from her position on the small sofa.

"Lots of soul reapers have appeared. I would like to know why."

"They're here because of the Bounts released bitto yesterday. How could I have forgotten?" He fumed, "They shouldn't come here because of the trouble the bittos have been giving them."

"Then why are some heading here?" As soon as she mentioned it Mugetsu noticed two sets of spiritual pressure steadily making their way towards the house. It was Toshiro and Rangiku.

"Don't worry I'll make sure they don't do anything. Let's just go," Mugetsu indicated for Mila-Rose Apacci and Sung-Sun to go. Fortunately they complied, trusting a decision they wouldn't have trusted when they first met. He turned to Harribel as he put his shoes on and followed the others out the door, "Suppress your spiritual pressure as much as you can and they won't come to you."

"You best hurry Ichigo its already 4th lesson." Apacci said nonchalantly. Sighing Mugetsu shunpoed after them for only a few seconds before he almost crashed into Sung-Sun who'd stopped, her eyes widening slightly at the captain before her.

"You're the hollow signatures we're been picking up." Toshiro said eyeing the three fraccion curiously unable to notice Mugetsu presence until he stepped out from behind them.

"It's you! You're the guy who killed Aizen at Rukia Kuchikis execution." The white haired captain frowned wondering what he was doing with people who were supposed to be hollows.

"Yeah, it's good to see you Toshiro. You're here about the Bounts right? There using the bittos to collect souls so they can become more powerful." Mugetsu started, "As for these three, I wouldn't worry about them. They're not like the other hollows."

"It's Captain Hitsugaya to you. What do you mean, 'not like the others'?" He sighed just as his lieutenant appeared next to him a grin spreading onto her face when she saw Mugetsu.

"Oh, it's that handsome guy who killed Aizen. Looks like you've been busy." She teased glancing at the fraccion behind him.

"Y-Wait what? N-n-no it's not like that Rangiku-san…" Mugetsu stammered his face turning beat red as he caught on to what she was implying.

"Awhh, he's just like Ichigo-kun. How cute." Rangiku grinned, happy with the reaction she'd got from teasing Mugetsu.

"We're not here to play around, they're hollows." Toshiro cut in earning a pout from his lieutenant.

"He's the captain? You have to be kidding! He'd be a joke to take down." Mila-Rose smirked clearly unimpressed by the appearance of the captain.

"We're not here to fight Mila-Rose. You three should just carry on to school, I'll be along soon." Mugetsu said, ushering the three fraccion away in the direction of the school. They left using a slow sonido and breathing a sigh of relief Mugetsu turned back to the two soul reapers, one of which seemed eager to go chasing after them.

"Leave them Toshiro, they're not here to do any harm. I asked them if they wanted to move here."

"Why would you do that? They're hollows."

"Yeah they're hollows, but so am I." shock overtook their faces, smirking Mugetsu contined, "Not on the same level though. I was a soul reaper first and I got hollow powers, but that doesn't matter. I know you all have to deal with hollows but I think the Bounts are more important at the moment."

"The Bounts don't have as free access to the Seireitei as you and your hollows do." Toshiro stated.

"Why would they want to go to the Seireitei? They'd just get killed. And about the Bounts, well I wouldn't be so sure." He grinned when the young captain sighed again finally giving in.

"Fine, I'll leave them alone. How're the Bounts going to get into the Seireitei?"

"Ishida's going to open a portal for them. You'll find it later because the Bounts will attack the others on their way home, in order to test out their powers."

"Is there any way to stop this?"

"I suggest you find the Quincy and stop him from opening the portal, you can't stop the Bounts from attacking the others though so I suggest you find him quick or you won't be able to help the others." Mugetsu turned to go but was stopped by Rangiku.

"Aren't you going to help?" She asked.

"I can't." Leaving them behind in a cloud of dust Mugetsu made his way to school wishing he was able to help without putting the others in danger.

~/~

After receiving swift whack on the head form Ochi-sensei for being late Mugetsu managed to make it just in time for 4th lesson to finish. Ishida wasn't at school which he'd expected as the Qunicy was still recovering. Some of his classmates asked him why he was so much later than Mila-Rose, Sung-Sun and Apacci who he normally walked with every day. Mugetsu brushed it off with a simple excuse that he'd forgotten something and returned to get it which being a boring excuse made them all lose interest.

"Come with me." Ichigo said to Mugetsu as he walked past him and towards the door. Complying Mugetsu silently followed the orange head along with Chad, Rukia and Orihime. They walked out onto the roof which was when Mugetsu recognised the scene.

'They're either going to ask me to help them with the Bounts or bombard me with questions I can't answer.' He sighed into his mindscape.

'You know you can't help them Ichigo, those people will appear again and I have a feeling it'll be worse than last time.'

'I know but it'd be easier if the Bounts didn't make it into the soul society. Last time it got trashed.'

'They survived with it that time and I'm sure the information you've given Toshiro will do something.' 

'I guess. Where's Shiro? He normally has some input for these things.'

'You remember what you said to him yesterday yes? He's still pissed with you about it.'

'But-'

'Whether you mean it or not, it still effected the hollow. He is starting to acquire a heart after all.' Tensa cut him off.

'I'm sorry Tensa, and Shrio if you're listening. I'll talk to you guys later.'

"What's he doing here?" The familiar voice of Renji asked, a hint of disdain lacing his voice.

"Nice to see you too pineapple." Mugetsu smirked walking over to the fence and leaning on it. And was soon joined by Ichigo next to him and Rukia on the other side.

"What did you just call me?" Renji challenged.

"You heard pineapple."

"Will you guys cut it out? We're not here to argue." Rukia cut in, halting their pointless argument.

"If it's about wanting help from me, I can't give it to you." He sighed.

"Why not? You were eager to help yesterday." Ichigo debated. Everyone turned to face him, concern lining their faces, as if they knew what was wrong.

"Things have changed." He murmured eyes downcast, unable to look them all in the eye. "Is there anything else?"

"I need to talk to you after so you might as well stay." Ichigo said noticing his intent to leave.

After that the continued to talk about the problem of the bittos and other things on the Bounts, Mugetsu barely paid attention having already done this conversation before. When they'd finished and the bell was about to go for the end of lunch everyone left except Ichigo. Although while everyone was leaving there was some commotion, which turned out to be caused by the three fraccion.

"Where you all spying on us?" Rukia accused them.

"We wanted to know what you were doing to Ichi-Mugetsu." The voice of Apacci argued and soon enough they all came tumbling through the doorway, pushing Rukia and co out of the way as they did so.

"I told you, you two were over reacting as usual." Sung-sun scolded the other two, earning her venomous looks that would have been backed up by equally venomous words had they not been interrupted by a strange dark cloaked figure. The tip of what looked like a scythe was visible from his back but no other features were visible.

"Mugetsu, it has been decided that you've meddled long enough. You are to come with me." Rumbled the low voice of the figure.

"I'm not going anywhere." Mugetsu said stubbornly fumbling for his soul candy in his pocket. When he caught it he quickly popped it into his mouth and changed into his soul reaper form. Before he could call his sword the man in front of him heaved a hollow sigh and sent a black mass of chains at him. Mugetsu managed to dodge the set of chains only to be bound by another set from the opposite direction.

"Bastard! Let me go!" Mugetsu growled.

"That would be pointless, as my mission is to capture you in the first place." The man said, a smirk evident in his voice as he pulled Mugetsu towards him.

"Let him go!" Mila-Rose yelled as she too pulled out her soul candy swallowing it before Mugetsu could let out a protest for her not to. Everyone looked at her with big eyes, except for Sung-Sun and Apacci who rolled their eyes at her stupidity.

"Why did you do that? Now they know what we are." Apacci sneered at the newly transformed arrancar.

"Guess I forgot about that, too busy wanting to save Ic-Mugetsu." Mila-Rose retorted and then their argument started, the idea or rescuing Mugetsu forgotten. Said person sighed at their antics before turning to his almost captor.

"Who're you?" That got a reaction, the figure looked down at him allowing him to glimpse just under to hood. What Mugetsu saw shocked him into another world. He'd never seen anyone like that before. Not in Hueco Mundo, not in the soul society not even when he went to hell. There was nothing clinging to the man's form leaving him a mass of hollow bones, no wonder he covered up. Although it was a glimpse Mugetsu knew the lack of flesh would apply to the whole of his body.

"I have many names, as do the rest of my pantheon." He began catching back the attention of everyone else, "I suppose we're best known as Grim Reapers these days."

"You're what?" Ichigo called as he help Apacci back from Mila-Rose, apparently unfazed by the back Mila-Rose was a hollow.

"Grim Reapers…"Rukia mused before coming to an epiphany, "I've heard of you guys before. You're positioned on the other side of the world though what're you doing here?"

"Yes you're right about our positioning but I don't work there."

"Where do you work then?" Rukia asked as everyone looked at him with curiosity.

"A place that you'll never reach." He said dryly before turning back to the still tied up Mugetsu, "Time to go."

Before anyone could react the Reaper jumped off the building with Mugetsu in toe. Mila-Rose realising a split second late that she was in spirit from quickly followed suit with a high speed sonido. But when she reached just over the edge of the building they were nowhere to be seen. The only thing she could see was a dark portal on the floor closing over the top of a glinting blade. Cursing she turned back to everyone on the roof shaking her head to tell them he was gone.

* * *

><p>Well looks like the identity of one person has been revealed :) maybe guessing the others will be easier now. So Mugetsus been whisked away and the Bounts are still about. The next chapter will contain no Mugetsu I think… and it's the last of the Bount Arc, YAY!<p>

Don't think it will be long though seeing how there's not going to be much difference between this one and the original, and who likes repeats of things they've already seen?

Next time: Bount Arc: The Finale


	16. Bount Arc: Finale

Thanks for all the reviewin' guys its great :)

Alleren, about your review. I know that it doesn't make sense that pas Ichigo has a hollow yet his powers weren't removed. I have been planning to add the explanation somewhere in the story but I either forget or it just wouldn't make sense at the time. So you'll see below why past Ichigo has his hollow. Thanks for the review and reminding me to add it in :D

There's no need for me to put in the key seeing how the spirits don't talk in this chapter.

All rights to Bleach go to Tite Kubo.

Enjoy.

Bount Arc: Finale

* * *

><p><strong>Unknown Location<strong>

Mugetsu looked around his cell, the damp dark walls did little to give him a clue on where he was. As for the people who'd captured him, they hadn't been to see him at all since he woke up. Maybe they hadn't realised he was awake, or simply weren't that eager to talk to him. He knew that at the moment his chances of getting out were slim, they'd somehow managed to put Chouko to sleep along with his hollow and zanpakuto. Although they'd only aimed for the zanpakuto, what they'd done had affected the other two just as much. Any other access to his powers was denied by something Mugetsu knew nothing about. The only way he would ever leave was if he were to die, or Ichigo came to rescue him.

As much as he wanted his younger self to come bursting in to help, it wasn't the best option considering Ichigos current state. He knew the hollow was quickly taking over, after all he'd lived through it. However, he'd been curious to know how Ichigo had managed to even get the hollow. He'd interfeired so at the time when Byakuya should've removed his, well the powers Rukia gave him. To satisfy his curiosity he'd asked Ichigo the day the Bounts had arrived.

_Flash back:_

"_I hear you've been having some hollow issues." Mugetsu said to the orange head just as he was about to follow everyone else off the roof._

"_What's that supposed to mean?" Ichigo growled, assuming Mugetsu was here to put him down like any other hollow._

"_Relax I'm not here to kill you, I had a similar issue. But I don't see how you could've got one, the only way I know is by using the shattered shaft method."_

"_You have an inner hollow too?" Ichigo asked with surprise earning a nod from Mugetsu. "Well I guess that's the way I got it too. You see Urahara said that he'd expected me to lose my powers because of Byakuya, but seeing how he hadn't expected you he said that he'd take my powers instead."_

"_He stabbed you?" Mugetsu rose an eyebrow, that was far-fetched ever for Urahara._

"_Yeah, didn't even give me time to think, that bastard. I forgave him after we had a few matches with my new powers, if you know what I mean." Ichigo smirked._

"_I take it he removed powers that Kuchiki girl gave you?"_

"_You didn't know about that? I thought you would because…"_

"_You thought I worked for the soul society?" Mugetsu supplied._

"_You don't?" Mugetsu shook his head, "That's great, I thought they sent someone to spy on us. and you're right about the whole removing Rukias power. Urahara said I had my own soul reaper powers which were more powerful than the ones I currently had. So he stabbed me, threw me down a hole, almost killed me and sent me to my death, I'm sure I'll get him back one day."_

_End Flashback_

Even with his presence not much had changed, which he was thankful for. He'd only wanted to kill Aizen before the man had a chance to ruin everyone's lives again.

Before Mugetsu could go back to musing on past events, he heard a set of footsteps echoing from down the hall. He stayed fixed against the wall as the steps grew louder and louder the closer they got. A few seconds later the same hooded figure who'd taken him away appeared at his cell door. He looked up through the bars expecting the man to say something and when he didn't Mugetsu preceded to ask the question that'd been bothering him since he woke up.

"What do you want with me?"

"That, we cannot say. You are to be simply neutralised, you can know no more than that." The man rumbled, his voice echoing down the apparently long hallway.

"Who send you?" Mugetsu growled, he'd always hated cryptic people.

"That would be telling now wouldn't it?"

"I wouldn't try to get something out of him, feathers would be a better option. All that righteousness clouding his judgment." A new voice snarled as a its set of footsteps made its way down the hallway. A taller man appeared outside the cell, a cruel smile twisted onto his well chiselled face as he glared down at Mugetsu. Black hair reached down to his shoulders with a few molten red streaks highlighting it in a deep unearthly glow. He wore dark metal armour which was decorated with menacing spikes on each shoulder. A pair or swords hung from his waist occasionally scraping together and sending chills up his spine.

"I thought we agreed that you wouldn't have contact with him." Sighed the Grim Reaper.

"I wanted to see what all the fuss was about, guess he wasn't that much of a deal. He doesn't even have any spiritual pressure!" The newcomer roared clearly thinking Mugetsu was a waste of time.

"Who're you?" Mugetsu cut in earning a glare from the dark haired new comer.

"You shouldn't demand things of those who are stronger than you." He said sarcastically, "I'll tell you anyway then maybe next time you'll speak with some respect. My name is Hades, god of the underworld for the Greek pantheon."

~/~

**With The Others**

When Mugetsu had been taken everyone had been too shocked to say anything about it let alone the sudden revelation that Mila-Rose was a hollow. She along with the help of Apacci and Sung-Sun managed to explain to the others why they were as they were. They'd listened just as Mugetsu said they would when they'd discussed revealing their identity and everyone decided that it would be best to discuss the kidnap of Mugetsu later after they'd all thought about it.

The bell went only minutes after Mugetsu capture and they all made their way back to class giving the teacher some half-hearted excuse as to why Mugetsu wasn't in class. The teacher brushed it off and they all continued their day with heavy thoughts on not just the Bounts but how they would get back Mugetsu.

The rest of the day went smoothly and when school finished everyone decided to meet up at Uraharas shop to discuss the rescuing of Mugetsu. Alas that didn't go to plan, on their ways home the Bounts attacked Ichigo and his friends in order to test out their new powers. Leaving them unable to meet with the arrancar at Uraharas shop when they were supposed to. Sensing the battles the arrancar, after telling Harribel the situation went out trying to track down Mugetsu. It was a pointless exercise but that didn't stop them and they continued to scour the town for the rest of the night.

~/~

While they did that Ichigo and everyone else were busy tackling the Bounts. And after his battle with Koga Ichigo realised why Mugetsu had told him to get his hollow sorted sooner rather than later, as he'd had the misfortune of it taking over again.

Everything went as it was supposed to, the Bounts managed to get into the soul society despite the warning Mugetsu gave Toshiro as they were unable to find Ishida until it was already too late. With the Bounts gone through the gate to the soul society everyone chased after them using Uraharas senkaimon.

The battles that proceeded were exactly the same, a possible difference would have been that Ichigos rage was higher than normal making his battles shorter than they would have been. But only by a few seconds.

~/~

With the Bounts dealt with Ichigo and co returned to the world of the living after having their injuries healed and spending time with their friends in the soul society.

Being back meant they could focus on rescuing Mugetsu.

* * *

><p>Well who knew Hades was gonna appear? This probably seems ridiculous at the mo but all will be explained soon.<p>

Short yeah? Well that finishes the Bount Arc thank god, didn't like that arc much but not including it would feel strange :L

Next time: Royal Guard


	17. Royal Guard

Well we're back to no filler at the mo, kinda wasn't sure where to go but one of my friends gave me an idea. Thanks H, just hope this doesn't seem ridiculous :L

Just a note, the grim reaper guy will be shortened to Grim. Makes it easier to write :P

Enjoy.

I own none of the rights to bleach, that goes to Tite Kubo

Royal Guard

* * *

><p>Mugetsu stared blankly at the man who claimed to be someone called 'Hades', he'd never heard of him before let alone anything about his Greek pantheon. Who the hell was 'Hades' anyway?<p>

"Don't give me such a blank look boy, it's irritating." Hades sneered.

"Maybe he doesn't know who you are Hades, you're not exactly the most well-known god these days." Grim said looking up to the now infuriated Hades. Sighing he added, "You need to keep a tab on your temper to."

"Don't tell me what to do," Hades growled then turned to Mugetsu, "Seeing how Grim there is probably right, I'll give you a quick run-down. I'm like what you soul reapers call a head captain when it comes to death. I rule over all the souls who die and I return them back to the cycle when their time is right. I would've sent one of my underlings to deal with you but Zeus said they were too incompetent so I had to come and deal with this pointless mission."

"Zeus is his brother." Grim clarified.

"So how does all this concern me?" Mugetsu asked.

"We'll tell you later, right now we have a meeting to attend." Grim replied as Hades had already begun walking back down the hallway.

"I wouldn't worry about your friends trying to rescue you. The soul society has already taken care of _everyone_. They all think you're on holiday at the moment, or never existed. Not sure which one." Hades yelled before Mugetsu could argue that people would come to rescue him. The man then proceeded into a deep cruel laugh that could be heard even after he'd left the area. Letting out another hollow sigh Grim strolled down the corridor, his feet making light cracking sounds with each step he took.

'Great now what?' Mugetsu thought into the still silent mindscape. There was no answer of course, all the spirits who lived in him were knocked out somehow… He could understand his hollow an zanpakuto being unconscious, to an extent, but Chouko? How'd they managed to out here to sleep to? Hopefully they didn't know she lived in him as that would take some explaining to do.

~/~

**The room above Mugetsu**

"So what do we do with the kid?" Hades rumbled.

"Have you forgotten already? We need to question him." 'Feathers' said dryly.

"He's obviously guilty. He's been getting close with those former royka and I'm betting he's going to use them somehow."

"I wouldn't condemn him so quickly, we still have to handle this in a professional manner." 'Feathers' reasoned gaining nods from the other two, Grim was say in front of the fire while the other was stood with his back against the door.

"Self-righteous prick." Hades muttered.

"Hades, why do you have to be unreasonable all the time?" The one at the door queried.

"As nice as it is to be above the surface I refuse to work with him!" Hades pointed to the winged man who was sat at a book covered desk, half listening to the conversation, half researching.

"Nothing you can do about it." Grim said before trying to move them along, "Anyway we're not here to discuss who you like and don't like. We're here about the boy. Who's going to question him first?"

"I will," 'Feathers' announced from behind all the books, "He's only met you three properly and I doubt letting Hades loose on him first is a good idea, if we actually want answers."

"We agreed to let Azrael talk to him first?" Grim checked. Everyone nodded in the room so he continued, "Second?"

"I'll do it." Called the man at the door, they all then proceeded to agree on his call, leaving only Hades and Grim to decide turns.

"Grim if you go next then it won't matter if Hades loses it." Smirked the guy at the door his golden headdress slightly catching the warm light of the fire as he moved forwards a few steps.

Heaving a sigh Grim agreed to the idea hoping at least one of them knew how to heal, which we probably be Azrael.

"Shall I go now?" Azrael asked as he got up from his desk, knocking a few books onto the floor as he did so.

"Might as well get it over with, take him this," Grim threw a box at him, "some food as I'm sure he'd hungry."

"So we feed prisoners now?" Hades grumbled flicking his hand at the box. Flames appeared to be enveloping the box but when they died down it was revealed that they'd been burning nothing more than air. Hades looked up at Azrael and growled knowing it had been his intervention that stopped the food from burning up.

"Unlike you I don't torture people." Azrael huffed as he vanished from the room in a small flash of gold light.

~/~

**Mugetsus cell**

A flash of light in his peripheral vision got his attention and Mugetsu decided to get up and investigate. When he reached the bars and began to peer through he saw something he never knew existed. It was an angel.

Two pairs of giant white wings stood proudly on his back as they just touched the floor. Intricate markings the glowed gold decorated the main bones of the wings. The man was surprisingly young considering what he looked like, Mugetsu had always expected them to look old and tired but that was obviously wrong. He looked as if he was in his early twenties, which seemed to be the average where this group was concerned. He had long white hair similar to that of Ukitakes but it had an ethereal inward light to it that made it so different to the captain Mugetsu knew so well. The hair reached to just above the small of his back, its fringe framing inhuman white eyes that seemed to stare into Mugetsus very soul. Across his left eye there lay a barely visible tattoo that seemed to be a strangely shaped circle above his eye which had line leaving it to go across his eye. A simple white and gold roble covered the angels slightly tanned skin.

Mugetsu knew he knew the angel from somewhere but couldn't quite put his finger on it, until the angel spoke.

"It's good to see you again, Mugetsu." The familiar voice sang.

"You're that guy from the other night…" Mugetsu trailed off, "But you look different…"

"That's so people can feel my presence, we're not here to sneak around you know so keeping our presence known to anyone watching makes our job easier."

"And what is your job?"

"I'll tell you if you answer my questions." The angel said smiling a bit before passing a box through the bars.

"What's this?" Mugetsu looked at the thin box, shaking it a little only to hear a few things bounce around softly in it.

"Food, now my questions," he continued as he dragged a wooden stool from the left of Mugetsus cell and sat on it. "First, where were you after Rukia Kuchikis execution?"

"I went to talk to the captain commander, why?" Mugetsu replied confused as to why these people wanted to know this.

"Later," The angel dismissed as he resumed, "Where did you go after the meeting with him?"

"I...uh…went back to Sōkyoku Hill so I could go to Hueco Mundo..." Mugetsu said, having trouble recalling what'd happened like something was blocking his access to his memories.

"You sound unsure about that, something you're not telling me?"

"No, I just…can't seem to remember very well." Mugetsu strained racking his brains for what happened that day, only to get a few images of places he didn't know, "What was your name again?"

"Azrael. What do you remember?"

"I-I don't know I went to the commanders' office but after that… I just don't know!" Mugetsu ground out in frustration.

"I see, was anyone with you?" Azrael probed.

"No, I know that for sure. Unless you count my zanpakuto."

"So nobody knew where you were after you left the commanders office?" He clarified.

"No." Mugetsu murmured, "Why are you asking all of this?"

"I said I'll answer when I'm finished." Azrael paused, "Now, do you know any of the noble spiritual clans in either the soul society or the world?"

"Only the Kuchiki. Why did something happen?" As he racked his brains to see if he knew anymore clans more images appeared in his head along with some names.

"You're sure?"

"Yes…no I know a few more I think…" Mugetsu admitted as he struggled to depict the words.

"Take your time."

"Ukitake, Kyōraku, Fēng, Shihōin…Zeno…Eden and I think….Livingston.." Mugetsu finished unable to believe he'd said half of those names.

"You seem to know quite a few who aren't Japanese." Azrael commented, "I think that'll be all from me, the others shall appear and in turn ask you similar questions."

"Will you tell me what this is about?"

"I guess I should put your mind at ease," Azrael smirked, "We are the Royal Guard. And you Mugetsu have been charged with the murder of multiple members of noble families as well as two heads along with the attempted murder of the next heir to the royal family."

"What?" Mugetsu yelled jumping up, ready to bombard the angel with more questions. Only to find he was gone.

* * *

><p>Man what's Mugetsu done? D: Has he really killed all those people? And theres only one name left to reveal :L<p>

Thanks for reading

Next time: Interrogating Mixed Memories


	18. Interrogating Mixed Memories

Sorry all you guys are getting confused with the idea that Mugetsu killed these people, all will be revealed. Just keep in mind that most of the time we only know what Mugetsu knows :P

You got any questions just ask so long as it doesn't mean I kill the plot (:

Enjoy.

Interrogating Mixed Memories

* * *

><p><strong>Upstairs to Mugetsu<strong>

"So feathers how'd it go with the brat?" Hades asked as Azrael sat back down at his desk, his wings drooping to the floor while he heaved a frustrated sigh.

"Not to good then?" Grim said, "Didn't think it would, he doesn't seem like the type to give in."

"It's not that." Azrael murmured massaging his temples, "It's just—It's the fact that his story doesn't add up and he seems completely confused about all this."

"Maybe he's pl-" Hades began but Azrael cut him off.

"No he's not playing with me, I'd be able to tell." He paused, "He said he didn't know any clans apart from the Kuchiki but then he named more and they weren't just Japanese ones."

"He conscience got to him probably." Grim dismissed leaving Azrael to ponder on his newly found information. Turning to the guy wearing the golden headdress Grim spoke again, "Your turn, I hope he was right in sending you instead."

"It's not like he has much choice, is it?" The sneered back, venom dripping off each word before his sank into a black hole on the floor.

"You shouldn't mention him Grim, you know how he gets." Azrael scolded.

"Don't scold me like a child Azrael, the boy needs to grow up, it's been over 7000 years." Grim growled his hooded face looking in the direction of Azrael as if he was glaring.

**Down with Mugetsu**

'What the hell was that guy on about?' The words echoed through his still silent mindscape. Tensa, Shiro and Chouko were still out and the silence was beginning to get to him. But before Mugetsu could start his own rant to nobody another guy appeared, one he'd seen before. The man dropped rose up from a black hole in the ground, a hole that was also familiar apart from the lack of groping hands.

"You're that guy from the mansion," Mugetsu observed, "What do you want?"

"Same as Azrael, answers." He replied as he sat on the stool Azrael had disappeared from only seconds ago.

"I've already given you answers, what's the point in asking me the same questions again?"

"You're not telling us everything." He said accusingly before adding, "My name's Anubis."

"Anubis…?" Mugetsu trailed off into a question.

"I'm an Egyptian god so you wouldn't have heard about me," He sighed.

"Why's a god interviewing me about murders?" Mugetsu rose an eyebrow, these murders couldn't be that big of a deal, could they?

"My half-brother was almost murdered and one of my relatives Ankt was murdered the same day." Anubis growled his hands curling into fists in anger.

"First question, have you ever been to another pantheons 'soul society'?"

"No," just as he said he something flashed into his mind. Him along with someone else running down a huge golden hallway as they were chased by those dressed in a similar way to Anubis. Shock crept onto his face as he struggled to figure out where these false memories were coming from. He knew he'd defiantly never been to anywhere else apart from the soul society but his mouth seemed ignorant of that fact.

"In fact I have…it was a nice gold palace.…I don't remember..." Mugetsu hesitated, what he was saying was wrong!

"You killed her!" Anubis roared his stoic face twisting into rage as jumped up and was about to pull the cell door off when Grim appeared next to him. Mugestu just stood there, his body had automatically got into a defensive position due to the 'threat' in front of him.

"This is why we didn't want you involved," Grim bellowed as he picked Anubis up by the throat. "You're too brash and you let your emotions get in the way. I can understand why but even your 'daddy' wouldn't let that happen."

*cough* "I-know." Anubis coughed out and Grim let go of him the disappeared in a twirl of black smoke.

"I apologise, even if my family are not all that close they're all dear to me." Anubis muttered, "Let's move on, where were you last Friday morning?"

"I was…" Mugetsu trailed off unable to think of an answer, at that time he was in the future fighting Aizen, "Not around."

"What does that mean exactly?" Anubis pressed.

"I was in deep meditation."

"Fine," He huffed, "Lastly, can anyone vouch for your 'alibi'?"

"Only my zanpakuto spirits."

"There's more than one?"

"Yeah I guess, but they're asleep so they can't answer."

"Zanpakutos are not reliable as they are loyal to their masters." Anubis got up and disappeared leaving Mugetsu to ponder over his scrambled thoughts.

Mugetsu didn't understand. Why was he saying things he had no idea about? And why did memories that weren't his keep appearing from nowhere? Was something messing with he just like Aizen had before? Or had he really committed all these murders but blocked them out his mind? The questions kept surfacing in his mind until there were no more. He wasn't sure about anything anymore and he was determined to get to the bottom of it. Running his hand threw his hair Mugetsu found a braid that Chouko had probably done the last time he'd played tag with her. He fingered the piece of hair as he debated whether to remove it or not. But before a decision could be the temperature of the area went up until Mugetsu was sweating so profusely it dripped to the floor and began to create a small puddle.

A cruel chuckle made its way around the cell and hallway before an equally cruel voice spoke, "Looks like it's time to play brat. I will get straight answers from you, or there will be hell to pay."

"Hades." Mugetsu hissed silently as he got into a defensive stance, the way the god was looking at him did little to inspire confidence that nothing bad would happen.

"Good thing you remember my name brat, now let's see," Hades smirked before he ripped off the cell door and threw it down the corridor. A loud clang indicated that the door had hit the floor and there was loud thuds upstairs as people moved around frantically, trying to get down to them.

"What're you doing?" Mugetsu asked guardedly.

"Interrogating." Hades pointed at him sending a group of glowing red chain towards him. Mugetsu attempted to dodge out the way but the small cell gave him little room to move and the chains managed to wrap around him, binding his arms to his sides. While the chains bound his arms they also burnt his flesh causing Mugetsu to howl in pain. Hades merely stood and watched him get burnt for a few seconds before making the chains told cold. Mugetsu snapped his head up to look at Hades to see a maniacal smile was etched onto the gods face.

"Bastard what the hell was that for?" Mugetsu ground out through the lingering pain of the burns.

"To make a point that I won't take any bullshit from you." Hades reached forwards and grabbed him by the chains that were around his chest pulling him out the cell and slamming against the wall opposite.

"Now question number one, which pantheon are you from?"

"Japanese."

"Good, nice easy question right?" Hades grinned sending a white hot heat through the chains for an instant. Resisting the urge to make a noise Mugetsu grit his teeth until the burning subsided.

"Question number two, did you murder any nobles in the past week?"

"No! I've told you already I-" Mugetsu cut himself off as another memory materialised itself. This time it was him along with the same man as last time slaughtering a Greek looking clan. The memory seemed to be clearer and he managed to catch to words form the man. "Zeno" and "Aizen", he knew that Zeno was a Greek clan but what did Aizen have to do with any of this? He was dead, Mugetsu knew that for a fact and they man who'd said it looked nothing like Aizen nor the espada so who was he?

"Yes?" Hades prompted bringing his other hand up to Mugetsus neck and suddenly transforming it into a fiery molten claw. Wincing slightly at the heat Mugetsu tried to stay as still as possible in order to avoid the possible ripping and searing of flesh around his neck.

"I don't know…Zeno…I can't think!" As soon as he said it Mugetsu realised it was a huge mistake, he should have made something up or stayed silent. Hades grin was gone only to be replace by a deep frown of brooding anger.

"So you murdered one of MY pantheon?" Hades roared, his claw now millimetres from his skin. Heat licked Mugetsu skin as he tried to stretch his neck away but couldn't thanks to the wall he was currently pinned against. "I think they deserve some pay back do you not?"

Pain shot through Mugetsu as Hades grabbed his neck with his molten claw and then proceeded to throw him down the hallway and crashing into door of his cell which had landed propped against another door. The metal of the cell door bent and some of it even snapped causing it to stab into Mugetsus back. Screaming Mugetsu attempted to pull himself from the wreckage as blood poured from his neck and back making a puddle at his feet as it mixed with the sweat that was still pouring from his face. His vision was burred as it started to warp his head was hanging limp in an attempt to decrease the pain. Then he heard heavy footsteps of an impending doom. Cringing in pain he looked up to see Hades stalking towards him both hands now fiery claws that seemed intent on killing him for something he hadn't done.

Hades never managed to reach Mugetsu as a white barrier appeared in front of him, stopping him in his tracks. He raised him claws to smash it away but he was quickly pulled down into the familiar hole that Anubis made. Cursing loudly Hades disappeared into the floor and was replaced by Azrael and Grim.

"Didn't think he'd lose it so easily," Grim commented as he observed the almost destroyed hallway. "Why did you say to him?"

"What do you expect from him? He's always angry, reminds me of my youngest brother in a way…" Azrael mused. Mugetsus coughing brought them out of their pondering and with a flick of Azraels wrist he was pulled off the metals polls of the cell door. The angel murmured a few incoherent words before exhaling a cloud of golden smoke which weaved its way to Mugetsu shrouding him when it got close. The chains around his chest and arms disintegrated leaving scorch marks which were soon healed along with the wounds on his back.

Climbing his way up the wall Mugetsu pulled himself into a standing position but any idea of him standing was gone, as the world spun when he tried. Leaning on the wall Mugetsu looked up the hallway to where the other two stood staring at him.

"So Mugetsu, what did you say to him?" Azrael repeated Grims question.

"I…well…he asked if I'd killed any nobles and…"

"And?" Grim urged.

"At first I said no, but then…something… I don't know I just said Zeno…" Mugetsu trailed off when they gave him both condemning and pitiful looks.

"Couldn't have said a worse thing," Grim sighed, "Azrael go help Anubis deal with him I'll ask Mugetsu here a few more questions."

In a flash the 4 winged angel disappeared, and Grim walked up to Mugetsu avoiding a few chunks of wall the littered the floor as he did so.

"Three questions kid that's all I want." Grim said as he leaned against the wall opposite Mugetsu.

"Haven't you all asked me enough? I don't even know what I have and haven't done anymore! He's dead but then his name appears like this. I can't have a life where nothing gets destroyed can I? And I thought it all ended, I was a fool to think that." Mugetsu cursed, no matter what he did, Aizen always seemed to be the instigator of it all. Why?

"Who's this man you're on about?"

"Aizen Sosuke, a captain which I killed last week."

"Why did you kill him?"

"He was betraying the soul society and if I let him live, he would've destroyed everything." Mugetsu paused in thought, "But how's he behind this? I don't understand.."

"Him? You're the guy who took him down? You must be confused kid, you don't even have any spiritual pressure."

"Don't believe me, I don't care just move on to the next question I want this over."

"Whatever you say, what's your name?" A smirk evident in the skeletal voice as the question shocked Mugetsu to the core. They couldn't know could they? It had to be a trick.

"What's that supposed to mean? My names Mugetsu." He uttered.

"I'm old enough to know when someone's lying but if you won't tell me your name I'm sure I'll find out soon anyway." Grim paused before announcing the next question, "Do you know about any deaths in the past week?"

"No." this time no strange memories or visions presented themselves to Mugetsu but there was a sudden change in Grims stance. It became hunched and his bones were clicking as if he was under a tremendous strain that was invisible to anyone. But the stance changed as quickly as it'd come and Grim was back to his normal tall thin frame.

"Thank you for your time, I'll wake up your 'zanpakutos' now." Grim muttered clicking his fingers as he also disappeared from the room in a twirl of black and white smoke.

Silence fell over the destroyed hallway. Chunks of the walls lay on the floor along with much of Mugetsu blood. The cell door he'd been pinned to was bent inwards and outwards, some of it still had sticky red blood coating it along with a few other masses of red. Mugetsu himself was also covered in blood and dust. But it didn't bother him, he'd gotten used to the feeling of his own blood covering him over time which probably wasn't a good thing. Gently he pushed himself off the wall to test his balance which seemed to have faded.

Looking around he found a suitable piece of rubble to sit on that was directly underneath a giant crater from when he'd been shoved against the wall. Sighing Mugetsu sat down just as the silence was shattered by three familiar voices.

_**'Ichi-ni! What happened?'**_

'**Yo king, did we miss something?'**

'Did you get yourself into more trouble again?'

'You're all awake! And I haven't done anything wrong Tensa.'

'**Then why're you covered in your own blood?'**

'I'll explain…'

**Upstairs**

"What do you think Grim?" Azrael asked.

"He's not guilty."

"How? He even named families he shouldn't have heard of!" Anubis protested.

"Someone's messing with his thoughts. How's Hades doing?"

"He's calmed down but I suggest we leave him there over night." Azrael suggested as he removed some debris from his hair.

"What's are next move then? This guy was our only lead."

"He said something about a man called Aizen, go find out what you can about him form the soul society. I'll talk to Mugetsu." Grim ordered as he collapsed into one of the fireside armchairs. With a nod Anubis disappeared quickly leaving a swirl of smoke behind him.

"This isn't as straight forwards as we thought is it?" Azrael sighed as he sat opposite Grim his wings non-existent at the moment.

"More things have been going on here than we thought, and that kids right at the centre of it."

* * *

><p>Man Hades sure has a temper doesn't he? Maybe I went a bit over the top on that…<p>

Looks like Mugetsus innocent yay, hope this makes things less confusing and don't worry I'm not bringing Aizen back so he is defiantly dead :D

Thanks for reading

Next time: Piecing Things Together


	19. Piecing Things Together

Hopefully this chapter will make things make more sense, if not then… I have no idea :L

Before I begin, there's going to be a pole on the ending. It's whether you want me to send Mugetsu to the Academy. There's gonna be four options:

First option: Don't Send Him

Second option: Send Him With Someone (Message me with a who, no OC)

Third option: Send Him Alone, In A Tragic Way

Fourth option: Send Him Alone, In A Less Tragic Way

So make sure you vote, I won't be taking it down for a few chapters so you've got more than a week to vote. Just make sure you do :)

I own none of the rights to Bleach, that goes to Tite Kubo.

Just a quick reminder, Mugetsu is Ichigo in his inner world.

'_**Chouko'**_

'**Shiro'**

'Tensa'

Piecing Things Together

* * *

><p>'…And that's what happened while you guys were all out.' Ichigo finished his explanation, as he stood facing the other on top of one of the many skyscrapers in his inner world.<p>

'**Why do they think king killed some nobles?'**

_**'Ichi-ni would never kill for no reason!'**_

'Maybe someone's trying to frame him..'

'**Who would want to do that? We've only been here for just over a week and the only major thing we've done is kill Aizen. I should know, it's been so boring!'**

'Ichigo, didn't you say the man you saw mentioned Aizen?'

'Yeah but I only got the word Aizen along with Zeno, which I found out the hard way is a Greek noble clan.'

'It's possible this man worked with Aizen, that's the only reason he'd have a grudge against you.'

_**'How could they frame Ichi-ni? The Captain Commander knows we're from the future.'**_

'Maybe someone made him forget. Someone's been planting memories in my head, why not the Commanders?'

'We don't know for sure but that is a possibility, it just doesn't make sense why they'd go this far. Why not just kill you?'

'**Cause our kings too strong!'**

'Stupid hollow, that's not going to be it, they've killed many nobles and managed to evade this 'Royal Guard'.' Tensa sighed and punched Shiro in the chest, sending him flying into the skyscraper behind them.

_**'Tenny-Chan that was mean!' **_Chouko pouted before jumping after the albino.

'Tensa-'Ichigo was cut off.

'Look Ichigo you need to be careful around these people, if they work for a soul society then they're going to have the same views all soul reapers do about vizards. If they find out about Shiro it'll be the end of you and I don't even want to imagine what would happen if they found out what Chouko is.' Tensa whispered so quietly Ichigo could barely hear him.

'I guessed, that's why I said I have more than one Zanpakuto spirit.'

'Good, just try not to mention us too much. It's easier that way.' Tensa looked up for a second then back to Ichigo, 'Someone's on their way to see you, time for you to go.'

Ichigo smirked, 'Yeah I'll come back later, tell the other two.'

The last thing Ichigo saw as he left his mindscape was Tensa nodding before jumping off in the direction of Shiro and Chouko.

~/~

Mugetsu could just about register the familiar sound of bone on stone as he came to his senses. Blinking to clear his vision he got up from his cell and walked out to greet the owner of the footsteps. He'd spent the night in his cell as it had been the only place that wasn't completely damaged from Hades rage.

"Good morning Mugetsu," Grim said pleasantly as he came to a stop in front of Mugetsu.

"Cut the pleasantries," Mugetsu sneered, "Have you finished accusing me or murders I haven't done?"

"Well, we've found you innocent after some enlightening evidence came to us," Grim paused. "Someone's been messing with your memories."

"Not shit, I could've told you that from the beginning! Then I wouldn't have been thrown around and almost burnt to a crisp." Mugetsu yelled.

"Why would we have believed you?" Grim asked, but held his bony hand up to silence Mugetsu, "We wouldn't have, you were a criminal in our eyes, guilty until proven innocent."

"I thought it was innocent until proven guilty," Mugetsu muttered before sitting down on a hunk of rubble.

"Not with us. But our investigation is not over, you still hold information we need," Grim paused again. "But I can tell you have questions too, so how about an agreement? You answer my questions, I'll answer yours."

"Fine, good ahead then."

"Why was Aizen betraying the soul society?"

"So he could make the kings key," Mugetsu answered then proceeded to ask his question, "Who are you guys?"

"I guess Azrael only gave you a very brief explanation." Grim sighed, "As he said we're the Royal Guard, we guard the Soul King. But, we're also his top investigation squad. Except Anubis that is, Osiris wasn't in the mood to join us so he sent Anubis along, said it would be good experience for him. I digress though. Basically each pantheon has their own death god, in the Japanese case it is your commander who'd be yours, and these gods are what make up the Royal Guard. Every year the Soul Kings Royal Guard hold counsel and discuss confidential matters, on occasion we have extra sessions if there is a huge threat approaching. We also all have our own groups which we work in to investigate cases such as this one, only if it's on a global scale though. Does that satisfy you?"

"Uh…yeah.." Mugetsu said, a scowl creasing its way onto his face as he stared at the reapers skeletal drawings of people sat round tables along with others. Did everyone do crappy drawings like Rukias to explain things?

"Good, now let's see," Grim put away the drawings, "Do you know why Aizen wanted to create the Kings Key?"

"No, there wasn't time to understand why. I had to kill him, I know someone who might though."

"Maybe you could take us to see him, if not there are other ways-"

"You don't have to make threats all the time, I'll take you to see him later." Mugetsu cut him off, "Why did you think I killed these nobles?"

"There were two reasons, one was the fact a witness said they saw you, but with what we know now they probably had their memories edited." Grim sighed as he also sat down on a piece of rubble, "The other was that there were similar energy signatures left at each crime scene as the one you used on Aizen."

"How is that-" Mugetsu was cut off.

"My turn, you can ask it after." Grim said, the smirk obvious in his voice, "Why don't you have any spiritual pressure?"

"It's a technique that I can't undo," Mugetsu gestured to himself before continuing, "Because I used this technique no one can sense my spiritual pressure anymore. I shouldn't even be a soul reaper right now."

"I see."

"So how is it possible that what I used on Aizen was apparently used on these nobles?"

"That's where we're stumped kid, this Aizen guy never met you before the day you killed him right? So someone else must've somehow mimicked this energy knowing you were going to kill Aizen." Grim mused, "Why did you use this technique?"

"…To kill someone." Mugetsu answered in a voice the told Grim he wouldn't be saying anything more on that subject.

"Fine, go ahead with your question kid."

"When can I leave?"

"You can leave-" Grim was cut off as Anubis appeared in a swirl of black that rose from the ground. His expression was neutral leaving them to guess if something was wrong or not. That was until he spoke.

"Grim, we've been betrayed." Anger was woven into Egyptians face as he spoke the words, apparently even more frustrated by the next comment which answered their question to who it was, "We don't even know who! Many people were involved with this Aizen guy and we can't be certain who would want to help him."

"How do you know we've been betrayed Anubis?" Grim asked sceptically.

"That witness we had, you know we kept them in a secure location, only the Royal Guard knew about it. The witness is dead, along with another noble!"

"Fine. Looks like we best go investigate, which family?" He turned to Mugetsu, "You're coming with us, maybe you can shed some light as the crime scene."

"Kuchiki."

* * *

><p>Who's died in the Kuchiki family? D: dun dun dunnnn<p>

Yeah when it got to Mugetsu talking about the final getsuga tenshou I wasn't sure if he had spiritual pressure and no one could sense it or if he literally had none so I went with he still has it, just for the sake that this all makes sense :L

Well hope you all enjoyed that, don't forget to vote on the pole :)

Next time: Dead Investigators


	20. Dead Investigators

Remember to vote on the pole, the votes are tied at the mo so vote, vote, vote XD

If it ends up a tie I might make a separate ending with the other tied choice as a different story but I'd rather not have to do that :P

I had a real debate on if I should kill off Rukia and well… you'll see the conclusion I came to… :P

I own none of the rights to Bleach, that goes to Tite Kubo.

Dead Investigators

* * *

><p>'Kuchiki,' the word stuck with him as it echoed around his mindscape threatening to drown the world in rain. Back to how it was before, when everyone had died leaving Mugetsu with no hope and only the idea of saving the town he'd grown up in. The spirits who'd been up to their usual antics had frozen as the word reached them, they called out to Mugetsu, pleading for him not to think the worst. Their words didn't reach him. The rain crashed down on them, a storm that they all feared. Reminding them how glad they were to have each other in the vast lonely world of Mugetsus inner soul.<p>

"Who?" Mugetsu ground out. His fists clenched so tightly that his nails bit into his skin causing blood to slowly drip to the floor.

"We don't know their name yet, but it's female. We'll find out when we get there." Anubis replied before adding, "Shall I meet you two there?" He looked at Mugetsu then to Grim who nodded allowing Anubis to disappear.

"Mugetsu…" Grim began not sure what the appropriate action would be.

"You don't need to say anything, just take me there." Mugetsu murmured, "It might not even be her…"

"Give me your hand then." Grim said as he reluctantly held out his. Mugetsu didn't bother to ask why as he numbly lifted his hand up to Grim. A cold smooth surface grabbed his hand and pulled him along into darkness.

~/~

**Kuchiki Manor**

They arrived outside the gates of the manor. Grim argued with a few officials that Mugetsu was now a temporary part of their investigation squad, but Mugetsu didn't pay attention. He was too busy trying to summon up the hope that one of his friends hadn't died again, that he'd failed to protect another person even after starting over.

They were let in eventually and Mugetsu proceeded to follow Grim around the extravagant mansion, not that he noticed. People whispered as they passed by. Excited. Scared. Desolate. A mix of emotions filtered through the air, Mugetsu and Grim being the only reason for a hint of excitement. The walk felt long, not that it was. They entered a few rooms and as each door slid open it only made Mugetsus heart beat that much faster.

They stopped and were followed by another argument, one that was shorter than the first. When it was over the final door slid open, Mugetsu looked up and despite thinking about it for so long he wasn't prepared for what he saw.

Lying in what must've been her dyeing pose was the familiar raven haired girl who'd given him the ability to protect others. She lay upon a futon, obviously having been killed while she slept, gazing up towards the celling with her mouth pulled into a slight smile, one he'd come to know so well. One of her eyes was covered with a mass of hair while the other was open, the vacant mistiness of it only made Mugetsu even more speechless than he already was. But he didn't turn away. He continued to study her almost untouched body. Her hands were pulled up to her chest, lying just over her heart with one on top of the other. The reason for that as Mugetsu could see was to try and hide the wound for as long as possible. What had given it away were the specs of blood that lay just below her folded hands.

"Rukia…" Mugetsu whispered brokenly, a few tears ran down his face but he promptly whipped the away. Why? Why had he failed to protect her again? His sadness soon began to turn into anger. Anger that he was afraid would boil over and consume him. He didn't want to be reliving this again, it had been bad enough the first time.

"Time to inspect the body," murmured Grim as he walked towards the body, shooing all onlookers away leaving only three people in the room. Mugetsu only watched as Grim gently lifted one hand up and placed it to the side, and then repeated the process with the other.

"This is different…" Anubis observed.

"It's brutal, obviously someone was angry." Grim growled.

"How did they manage to cover up all the blood?"

"Illusion." Grim moved his hand over the wound that was so clean yet brutal and revealed the true mess of not only the wound but Rukias body.

"Very angry." Anubis corrected. Mugetsu eyes were wide as he looked at the now bloodied and battered body.

Her heart had been torn from her chest leaving a sticky gaping mess of blood, bone and tissue. The bones arched inwards showing that her chest had been punched into right the way through, the heart pulled along with the punch. Her legs were now both broken, their bones piercing her flesh from the inside out as they lay at inhuman angles. One arm was missing having been ripped off in the same manner as the heart leaving a spray of blood along the wall opposite but no sign of said arm. The other was burnt to the bone leaving nothing but the smooth but slightly charred surface of white visible. The face was the same, still a slight smile that now chilled Mugetsu to the bone was still there, the eyes open and one still covered by slightly blood soaked hair.

Everything in the room was a mess, not that it was surprising. Blood along with other unmentionables saw strewn around the room covering everything and soiling the place with its stench.

Mugetsu couldn't move. How could anyone do this? This was something you'd expect a hollow to do, only they wouldn't leave the body. How hadn't anyone noticed? And how was her body still here? He didn't want to believe it. Rukia wasn't so weak as to be taken out in her sleep. Then there was the smile. Who smiled while that was happening to their body? While they were being ripped to shreds in front of their own eyes?

"How did you know there was an illusion?" Mugetsu whispered, not trusting his voice to be any louder.

"You're expression and everyone else's reactions. We can see through illusions unlike normal soul reapers and this one was one planted by someone very powerful, yet still has the same signature as your attack on Aizen." Grim mused before he sank into deep thought and left Anubis to explain everything else.

"You're probably wondering how the body's still here aren't you?" He asked receiving a nod from Mugetsu, "If the body isn't completely destroyed it takes a while for it to break down depending on the person's spiritual pressure. Fortunately she had a decent amount and her attack happened at the right time, when people were waking up, so she was discovered quickly and they were able to preserve the body for us."

"She shouldn't have died at all, I came back to stop that! To stop it all!" Mugetsu said his voice building to an aggressive roar as his temper rose.

"You knew her." Anubis sighed his eyes filled with understanding. "We've all lost someone in these murders, that's why me and Hades were so quick to accuse you. We wanted someone to blame and we wanted our revenge sooner rather than later. But there's nothing you could've done, it's not your fault."

"It is though… if I hadn't killed Aizen then she wouldn't have been targeted. I caused this, again, I dragged her into something just like before…" Mugetsu muttered as he walked over to the body and knelt beside her. Ignoring the protests of the others he pulled Rukias face to his chest in a broken hug. Not caring he was covering himself in blood Mugetsu hung his head over her lifeless shoulder as he repeatedly whispered sorry into her now crimson coloured Jinbei. More tears ran down his face and a bigger storm raged through his inner world the spirits barely able to take much more of his grief until Grim pulled Mugetsu off Rukias corpse and dragged him to the other side of the room.

His movements were hesitant as he brought his skeletal hand up to Mugetsu face, muttering a few words as he did so, "I'm sorry for doing this kid, it'll wear off later but right now we need you in the right frame of mind."

A light flashed from his hand causing Mugetsu to blink. The tears stopped and so did the storm. But he couldn't feel anything. No sadness found its way into his mind as a satisfied Grim pulled him back to the body. The body that received no reaction from him.

"What did you do?" His voice was emotionless, almost lifeless, as he asked the question.

"One of my abilities is to lock away someone's emotions," Grim replied as he stared at the body. "Let's see, the killing blow was obviously the ripping out of the heart but why would they go to the extent of hiding their handy work? They've never done so before."

"Maybe they only wanted a certain person to see the damage." Anubis suggested indicating towards Mugetsu, "They're trying to gain his attention now seeing how the idea of framing him has been discarded."

"True but what do they have against Mugetsu?" Grim turned to Mugetsu, "Know anyone with a grudge against you?"

"Aizen's dead and I doubt his espada would bother to do all these murders, it's not their style."

"Come on kid you've got to have more enemies than that."

"I don't unless you count Tousen."

"Tousen's been in prison since you killed Aizen and there's been nothing to suggest his escape." Anubis paused in thought, "Unless Mugetsu doesn't know them directly, they could've been related to Aizen in a way…"

"Seems possible, but you said they're too many people who're involved with Aizen to know who it is." Grim said.

"I know but there I've got a list of people who were and we've got another list of who knew where the witness was placed. If we compare them it'll narrow it down, then we go from there."

"And if it's more than one?"

"We investigate all possible leads."

"You pre-"

"Shhh!" Mugetsu said silencing the whole room as he stood with his ear against the other paper doors which lead outside. The others looked at him curiously as he continued to signal them to stay silent a trademark scowl forming on his emotionless face as he strained himself to hear something they couldn't.

Mugetsu heard a slight tap on the other side of the doors and that's all it took before he burst through them and came face to face with the murderer.

As quick as he burst through the door the figure jumped backwards into the middle of the garden. Their body was completely covered by a gold trimmed black cloak and a hood was pulled up obscuring most of their face from view leaving only the mouth visible.

A cruel grin pulled onto their face as the pulled a bundle out from their cloak. And the bundle turned out to be the heart missing from Rukias chest.

"Hello, Mugetsu." The poisonous feminine voice called before taking a bite into the blood dripping heart.

* * *

><p>Sorry guys for killing Rukia, please don't kill me D:<p>

If I didn't kill her off I thought it might be too predictable, and now Mugetsu has a reason for wanting to kill this mystery person so I guess it's all good :P

Jinbei – I think they're pyjamas… not sure if they are though…aha..

Next time: Someone's Watching Your Pain


	21. Someone's Watching Your Pain

Yeah, again sorry I killed Rukia but it makes things more interesting and no I don't hate Rukia so that wasn't the reason I killed her, if I'd killed Byakuya then it'd been completely weird, he's not an easy guy to take down plus Mugetsu cares about Rukia more than Byakuya. So 'DaScythr' you need to chill the fuck out cause I don't appreciate reviews that flame, okay?

Anyway don't forget the pole XD

I own none of the rights to Bleach, that goes to Tite Kubo.

_**'Chouko'**_

'**Shiro'**

'Tensa'

Someone's Watching Your Pain

* * *

><p>"Mmmm, soul reaper hearts always hit the spot." The figure moaned as blood dripped from her mouth, the heart still held in her hand with a giant chunk missing from it.<p>

"You bastard!" Mugetsu roared and was just about to charge when Tensa stopped him.

'Ichigo, listen to me, I know you want to avenge Rukia but her bodies disappearing. And Chouko has an idea that could save her, but you need to listen.'

_**'If you really want to save Rukia Ichi-ni I could turn her into a hollow for you.'**_

'Wouldn't she just want to kill everyone then?'

_**'No, I'll make her an arrancar like I did the others, she will have the same powers as she does now, only a few hollow ones will be acquired. Her strength will not change only her appearance. Do you want me to try?'**_

'What about her?'

'**Me and Tensa will deal with this bastard.'**

'But-'

'Now is not the time Ichigo decide now!'

'Let's do it then.' Mugetsus attention snapped back to the current situation in time to catch the end of Anubis's conversation with Grim.

"….That voice..."Anubis trailed off as he and Grim now stood in front of Mugetsu poised ready for battle.

"What is it Anubis?" Grim asked as he materialised a scythe into his right hand.

"…No! Apophis! Please tell me this isn't true!" Anubis cried, his anger increasing along with his spiritual pressure which was now creating a golden aura around him.

"N'awww dear brother, are you upset?" Apophis teased before consuming the remainder of Rukias heart. "How's dear Horus? I heard he had a very tragic accident."

"Apophis! You shall pay for what you've done!" Anubis screamed as he and Grim launched themselves at the woman, weapons raised and poised ready do deal twin deadly strikes.

'**Looks like we won't need to do anything.'**

_**"Hurry Ichi-ni, we need to help Rukia!"**_ Chouko called as she materialised and bounded towards the now glowing corpse of Rukia. Mugetsu hurried after her and got there just in time to see her erect a purple barrier around Rukia. The glowing stopped, but that only ushered the beginning of her transformation.

Purple and white liquid poured out the many wounds on her body and encased her body in seconds. Whiteness overtook the whole scene inside the barrier causing Mugetsu to turn away and the barrier to shatter due to the building energy inside. A hollow roar sounded from inside the now built up cloud of smoke stopping the battle that had been going on in the background.

"Mugetsu! What the hell do you think you're doing?" Grim yelled.

"Ohh my, didn't know he could do that." Apophis purred a small smile making its way onto her face.

"Pay attention!" Anubis yelled as he came up behind Apophis and slashed at her back, sending blood spraying on the ground. The battle resumed as Mugetsus actions were put aside in order to finish the battle.

Another roar resounded through the air, this time it was ignored as a small figure drifted through the smoke, it's feet inches off the floor. The smoke cleared revealing the hollow form of Rukia. Ultimately it reminded Mugetsu of her zanpakuto from during the rebellion. On its back were purple wings similar to that of a butterfly, like they were the bow from her zanpakutos outfit. The wings were beating furiously which was the reason she hovered above the floor. She had a white and purple crystal-like spritely body, with the her hole positioned in the place where her heart had been torn out. Clawed feet and hands gave her a vicious edge along with the swept back crystal spikes that protruded from her head and out from her still raven black hair. The mask that covered her face had jagged edges as it too swept back into her hair like the spikes. Violet eyes glowed from their sockets and her now long raven coloured hair danced around her face.

**_"Now for stage two!_" **Chouko grinned as another barrier formed around the hollow and concealed it in a blast of white light.

The process was quicker this time and after a few cries from the hollow all fell silent, the only noises heard were that of clashed blades and grunts of the three who were still fighting. The light cleared again to reveal a normal looking Rukia, save the hole in her chest and her piece of mask. The mask consisted of two bone like vambraces on her arms and a piece swept back at the side of her head.

"Ichigo…" She sighed when she saw him before collapsing to the floor. Chouko turned her over and grinned up at Mugetsu.

_**"She's okay, just tried,"**_ She glanced over to the fight which was currently going on in front of them. Apophis was losing but that didn't mean she was going to give up. Her body was covered in multiple cuts that were bleeding out onto the floor. The others had their share of cuts but they weren't as bad. The most severe was to Anubis's arm which had a giant gaping slash through it almost rendering it useless.

_**"Do you want me to stop her Ichi-ni?"**_

"Yeah, it's gone on for long enough and this way we can question her." Mugetsu replied as he walked out into the Kuchiki garden which was now trashed. The bridge was destroyed leaving only a few planks standing. Plants had been kicked up or completely obliterated. The pond was no longer a pond. Fish were flopping about all over the garden and the 'pond' was now filled with mud, blood and gore.

The purple haired child muttered a few words before chains formed around Apophis and dragged her towards them. Apophis cursed and hissed as she was dragged along the rough churned up ground of the garden and then brought to a stop just in front of the wooden walkway.

"What have you done to me? Let me go!" She screeched her hood finally falling down to reveal someone who looked so similar to Aunbis it was staggering. She had the same dark hair which fell longer than Anubis's as it reached down under her tattered bloodied cloak. Dark evil eyes glared blankly up at Mugetsu as she attempted to shake the chains loose.

"Why did you kill Rukia?" Mugetsu snapped as Grim and Anubis landed next to him their eyes more on Chouko then Apophis.

"Why would I tell you that? I'm going to die anyway." Apophis smirked.

"What about Horus? Why did you attack him?" Anubis asked in an almost sad, pleading tone.

"Brother I didn't attack Horus, as much as I wanted to someone else was assigned to that one."

"Tell me who did it, then maybe I'll take mercy on you." Anubis threatened as he crouched in front of her and lifted her up to his level by the chains that bound her.

"Threaten me all you will, I shall not break. Brother." She spat at him only to receive a backhand to the face.

"Anubis.." Grim warned.

"Yes, too emotionally involved. Hard not to be, she's my half-sister."

"Maybe I should take over?" Grim offered.

"Fine," Anubis dropped Apophis back to the ground and stormed away to a nearby wall. Leaning against is he didn't take his eyes of Apophis for more than a second.

"Now, Apophis is it? I'd appreciate it if you co-operated, makes things easier as I don't need to torcher you physically to get my answers." The skeletal man rumbled hollowly as he strolled over to the now caked in mud woman.

"You wouldn't, you're not-" She started quivering evidently afraid of the methods Grim was known for.

"We're above that petty law when it comes to murdering other pantheons." Grim cut her off, "Now are you going to talk?"

"I don't give in to idle threats." Apophis said in an attempt to be brave but Mugetsu could see she was really terrified on the inside, even his hairs were standing on end and he didn't know what Grim was about to do.

"You'll find that it's not idle." He murmured as he stretched his hand out towards her. At first not much happened, a few shadows swirled round Grims hand and the slowly made its way towards Apophis. She shook her head as she tried to move away from the smoke but it was futile. The smoke surrounded her head and then appeared to be absorbed into her skin. That was all though, until she started screaming.

The screams made Mugetsu jump, he glanced over to Chouko who cringed and her face twisted into a horror filled expression. Something was obviously happening on the inside of Apophis's mind. The screams were as if someone was tearing her mind to pieces, scattering everything around inside her and ripping it up some more. Some blood leaked out her eyes like crimson tears only much less innocent. The screaming soon stopped and Apophis who'd been levitating in the air now collapsed back onto the mudded ground and curled into a heap shaking. The chains that bound her shattered and Chouko sunk to the floor, her eyes wide and scared.

"Chouko!" Mugetsu called as he ran over to her, kneeling in front of her when he got there, "What happened?"

_**"Ichi-ni…"**_ She shook her head before launching herself around his waist in a crushing hug. Gently putting a hand on her back he brought her into a small comforting hug.

"Did you get much?" Anubis called to Grim.

"Bits and pieces, I may have been a bit too ruthless on her…" Grim admitted, Mugetsu could hear them walking up behind him. When they stopped behind him Chouko looked up gasping when she saw Grim and then promptly disappeared.

'We'll look after her Ichigo. She saw some horrible things while he….'

'What did he do?'

'**You don't want to know king, just say it's a miracle that woman's still alive let alone conscious.'**

"What did you get then?" Anubis said snapping Mugetsu back to the present.

"She's been watching Mugetsu, had a vendetta against him for killing Aizen. She was there when it happened. Did you see her Mugetsu?"

"No I didn't." Mugetsu replied stoically as he got up and faced them a scowl completely fixed into his face.

"Don't look at me like that, I didn't know it would affect your zanpakuto too and I didn't expect her to be a child." Grim sighed, "You sure you didn't see her? Apparently your move hit her because she was stood right behind Aizen."

"No."

"She must've been invisible. She can't bare the sun seeing her, after all she hates Ra." Anubis mused, "Anything else?"

"I only got one name, one that's not surprising really. Beelzebub," Grim paused as he dusted himself off. "Then there's the fact they've got a keen eye on Mugetsu here, the framing was a way to get his attention. As for the master plan, she kept it well hidden." Grim gestured to the heavily shaking body of Apophis who was curled into a foetal position.

"Seriously Beelzebub? He said he wouldn't get involved in death god business anymore." Anubis sighed, "As for Mugetsu I'm sure he can take care of himself where they're concerned."

"Yeah so while we go talk to Beelzebub you can go back home, I'm sure everyone's worried." Grim said with fake sincerity, "Before we go, I want to talk to you about that." He indicated to the fainted form of the now arrancar Rukia.

"As do I," A familiar noble voice called from the middle of his wreck garden, a few guards accompanying him. His face held the same emotionless expression it always did, apparently uncaring about the fact his garden was trashed.

"Byakuya," Mugetsu smirked.

"Looks like you're just in time, Mr Kuchiki, Mugetsu was just about to explain." Anubis smirked up at the soul reaper whose garden he'd just destroyed.

* * *

><p>So yeah I brought back Rukia, she won't be over powered or anything, practically the same as normal only difference being she's a hollow and therefore has cero. Do you guys think I should've brought her back?<p>

Hope this isn't getting too over the top, you know introducing loads of different gods and stuff… aha

Next time: She's a Hollow, Woah, Woah, Woah…

XD couldn't help it.


	22. She's a Hollow, Woah, Woah, Woah…

Thanks for all the reviewin' guys :D

Seems I gotta bit of explaining to do XD

Let's see… first Experimentnumber628, not sure if you wanted me to answer some of ya questions but oo well :P

Rukia living at Mugetsus, not too sure about that. Could be a good idea cause then I suppose Harribel would turn into her mentor or something but then again she might prefer to live in the soul society, depends how things work out. Mugetsu finding love, ahahaha…never good at writing love things, I might give him a lover or something still undecided, maybe I'll leave that up to you guys… I doubt Rukia being an arrancar would effect Ichigos hollow, thing is past Ichigos hollow is still the evil one we all love :P

Not many answers there but hey you'll find out soon (:

Next, Kvothe Arliden:

Ahhh yeah, the power differences… ^^

Well… So Mugetsu is strong yes, when it comes to normal soul reapers he's really over powered. The Royal Guard could capture him easily mainly because of Grim, thing is I haven't said much about his powers, so that doesn't really help your confusion, his powers are mainly mental or something similar to that. He can put someone's inner spirits to 'sleep' and also render them unable to use their powers. Chouko hasn't been helping Mugetsu much because cause I guess you could say she's trying to keep him in existence, seeing how Mugetsu is Ichigo and there's already an Ichigo in this timeline. Now the god-likeness of Aizen when he had Chouko, because Mugetsu has Chouko he is god-like too but now he's up against gods so he's like a weak god compared to Hades, Azrael ect. Then there's his spiritual pressure, no one can sense it, as if he doesn't have any but that doesn't make him extremely powerful, as we all know.

I hope that explains everything, unless it just made it all more confusing…oops :L

Right on with the chapter…

Btw, polls still going :D

I own none of the rights to Bleach, that goes to Tite Kubo.

_**'Chouko'**_

'**Shiro'**

'Tensa'

She's a Hollow, Woah, Woah, Woah…

* * *

><p>"Well then Mugetsu, you best start explaining," Anubis grinned as he looked from Byakuya to Mugetsu.<p>

"Well I brought her back… as an arrancar…" He said plainly not sure what type of explanation they expected.

"We can see that kid, but how?" Grim prompted in a hollow rumble.

Mugetsu sighed, how the hell was he supposed to get out of this? "Chouko did it, it's one of her abilities to heal others but because Rukia had no heart she became a hollow so we turned her into an arrancar."

"One of your zanpakuto abilities is to heal people, and turn them into hollows?" Anubis raised an eyebrow while Byakuya stood as stoic as usual taking all this in.

"Yeah.." Mugetsu agreed.

"Don't play us for a fool boy your zanpakuto is not called 'Chouko' it's the same name as Ichigo Kurosakis." The stoic man finally chipped in, his eyes glaring accusingly at the now heavily sweating Mugetsu.

"Two people with the same zanpakuto? Another one of these cases then…" Grim sighed and Anubis rolled his eyes.

"Who's the girl then?" Anubis asked.

"She's-" Mugetsu was about to think of an excuse when the still shivering body of Apophis cut over him.

"She's the Hōgyoku isn't she?" Apophis coughed as she lent her head on the wooden platform.

"Yes." Mugetsu said giving up, excuses wouldn't get him anywhere and at least they still didn't know about his hollow.

Apophis gave a small cruel smile before she fainted leaving everyone –who could- staring at him wide-eyed and warily.

"The Hōgyoku eh? I wondered where that went." Grim murmured, "So you have it, any reason for that?"

"She just attached herself to me…" Mugetsu said honestly before adding, "But you're not taking her anywhere, she's not a weapon."

"That so?" Grim shrugged, "No harm in letting you keep her for now, so Mr Kuchiki anything else you want to know?"

"Because she is a hollow-" Byakuya said to be cut off by Mugetsu.

"No way are you killing her Byakuya, she's just like a normal soul reaper." Mugetsu growled, "If you want to kill her I'll take her."

"Don't act like you know what I think boy," Byakuya glared, "I shall not stand for another Ichigo Kurosaki. That thing there is of no concern of mine, Rukia is dead, she died this morning and that thing on the floor is not her. I refuse to accept an existence that would taint the memory of Rukia."

"Byakuya…Why? Why would you abandon her like this? The sister you swore you would protect no matter what laws you'd break in order to do so!" Mugetsu screamed as he pointed to the softly breathing form of Rukia.

"That thing is not my sister, it is like all hollows. A tainted and distorted shadow of who they were before." Byakuya replied emotionlessly, barely glancing Rukia. "My decision is final, it will not live in my house and if I see it again I will not hesitate to put it down like all other hollows."

"But…" Mugetsu tried to argue but he knew there was no point. Why would he listen to him? He was surprised Byakuya hadn't tried to attack him on sight but that was probably because of Grim and Anubis. Byakuya still hadn't taken many steps closer to the one he knew, the one who would've probably accepted his sister even if she was a hollow.

"Is that all Mr Kuchiki?" Anubis asked, ignoring Mugetsus current wallowing.

"Yes, take that thing and leave. You've done enough damage." Byakuya said in a disapproving voice, "Don't forget to take her with you." He indicated to the unconscious form of Apophis before flash-stepping away.

"Time to go then. Are you taking her with you Mugetsu?" Grim asked, "We've got a few people to visit."

"Yeah I'll take her back with me, maybe Byakuya will change his mind soon…" He trailed of walking towards Rukia and then proceeded to scoop her up over his shoulder.

"Maybe he will kid, I doubt it'll be soon though. People take time to get over things like this, no matter how cold they act." Grim sighed as he walked over to Anubis who'd already picked up Apophis and slung her over his shoulder, an expression of extreme distaste written over his face.

"What happens now?"

"As I said we got a few people to see, one being Beelzebub and the others being people we work with. Azrael and Hades will stay in the area to keep an eye on things while we're gone," Grim said his tone clearly stating that they still didn't trust Mugetsu, more so now that they knew he had the Hōgyoku.

"Be good Mugetsu and stay under the radar, we don't want them coming after those you hold dear just so they can get you to do what they want." Anubis added before he disappeared into his usual black portal, closely followed by Grim leaving Mugetsu to open his own garganta to get home.

~/~

**Human world, Mugetsus Home**

He arrived just above his house, the familiar air of Katakura hitting him and reminding him of how he loved the place where he lived. He could feel everyone's spiritual pressure, all steady and calm tonight. Except one. Ichigos. There seemed to be a constant flicker from twisted hollow spiritual pressure to his normal. He'd told Ichigo what he had to do but it looked like he's failed to listen to himself. He'd visit the orange head tomorrow if he got the chance.

Jumping down from his position in the sky Mugetsu landed lightly just in front of his house, leaving no mark on the concrete as he did so. He walked slowly forwards, opening the gate that creaked and then leaving it to slam shut. A way of letting the others know someone was outside, if they didn't already. He continued to the door and reached out for the handle, only to have it pulled away from him as the door was opened by none other than Harribel. Her arms were folded and although her face held a neutral expression Mugetsu could tell form looking in her eyes that she was angry, yet relieved at the same time.

"I'm sorry Harribel, I-I-" Mugetsu attempted to explain but was cut off by Harribel.

"Where have you been?" She asked in a monotone that suggested she wouldn't take any foolish excuses.

"Well…uh...how should I explain this? You see I was taken away by these people who thought I'd killed loads of nobles. We found I was innocent," He added hastily when Harribel gave him a look of poison. "Turns out Aizens behind some of this, they guys that took me said I could come back while they investigate some leads."

"Even when he's dead we can't escape him…" Harribel whispered, "What about her?" She nodded towards Rukia who was slung over Mugetsus shoulder.

"Oh, this? You see Rukia was killed so we made her into an arrancar…" Mugetsu grinned uneasily as he scratched the side of his head.

"A soul reaper? It would be wouldn't it, as much as I'm against it turning her away would not be the best choice." Harribel admitted as she moved to allow Mugetsu in before quietly shutting the door behind them. They made their way over to the sofas and Mugetsu gently deposited Rukia on the longer one before taking a seat on the one opposite. Harribel joined him and they just sat there in silence staring at the resting form of Rukia. They sat there for at least half an hour before she began to stir but they only continued to watch until her eyes were completely open and her mind awake.

"Rukia?" Mugetsu called in a whisper.

"Ichigo? What're you doing here?" she asked before her eyes widened in shock as she remembered what happened, "I'm dead! I can't be here! I'm dead, I saw it all, felt it all, I…" She trailed off, small tears brimmed in her eyes only to be promptly wiped away. She sat up giving Mugetsu a determined look as if she was prepared to beat some form of answers out of him, not that it was needed.

"You're not dead Rukia, I brought you back the same as every…with maybe only a few differences.." He admitted quietly prepared to explain the rest but Harribel took over.

"You're an arrancar now," Rukia gave her a blank look, "the highest evolution of a hollow." Harribel explained, "You may return to the Soul Society if you want but if you were allowed to exist there I doubt Mugetsu would have brought you here. If you choose to stay I shall teach you how to use your hollow powers and deal with the hunger."

"I'm a hollow?" Rukia looked down at herself, finding everything how it was supposed to be until she caught sight of her chest. She looked like she was going to faint when she saw the hole but apparently came to her senses as she slowly too in the idea of being hollow. Bringing her hand up to her face she tried to feel for the mask that she assumed would cover all her face only to have her hand touch the small piece which lay perched on the top side of her face. She didn't seem to mind so much after finding that her mask didn't cover the whole of her face, even after noticing the vambraces on her wrists she still sat calmly.

"Rukia, are you okay?" Mugetsu asked as he walked over to her. When he got within distance the newly formed arrancar proceeded to punch him in the face, sending him flying back into the sofa he'd been sitting at. Harribel had already moved out the way for the oncoming crash that was about to happen knowing the soul reaper was likely to be a little upset with Mugetsu for bringing her back.

"What the hell was that for?" Mugetsu roared from the now tipped over sofa as he leaned up over the edge of it.

"For bringing me back!" Rukia retorted, more tears brimming but she ignored them. "You can't control who lives and dies Ichigo! I'm grateful that you brought me back but, when someone's time is up you can't change it. If they're supposed to die then that's fate, and no matter how powerful you may be, you can't change fate."

Mugetsu said nothing, ultimately she was right. He didn't have to right to act like a god, who'd given him the right to dictate who lived and who died. He'd been selfish when he brought her back, trying to redeem himself for what happened in his future. He silently walked away, down the hallway and to his room. He needed time to think, time to piece everything that was happening together. He needed to find a way to ensure no one else he cared for died.

"Ichigo…" Rukia attempted to call after him.

"Leave him, he's got much to reflect on." Harribel said as she also stared after the black haired reaper, "You haven't offended him so don't worry, maybe you can go see him later if he's better. But for now you can share my room, come on."

Turning off the lights Harribel and Rukia made their way past Mugetsus room and too Harribels room. Leaving the house silent the two turned in for the night leaving only Mugetsu awake as he reflected on everything that'd happened.

~/~

**Mugetsu**

He flopped down on his bed, the covers exactly how he'd left them and everything else also the same. His gigai was sat up against his wardrobe wearing the creased school uniform from the day he'd been captured. How long had he been gone? He couldn't count the days, time had seemed slow at one point then fast at others. But there was also the issue of him being out for some amount of time.

'You guys okay?' He called into his mindscape.

'We're fine Chouko is asleep, so don't worry too much about her.'

'**Don't tell him not to worry Tensa! Kingy you should be wary of those Royal Guards, they may be the good guys but their methods are inhumane, and that's coming from a hollow.'**

'I know Shiro, I know. What do you suggest we do now?'

'They probably won't take long to investigate what they need, so I suggest the best plan is to do what they said. Lay low and make sure your past self gets his hollow sorted and doesn't leave it to the last moment.' Tensa sighed the last part.

'Yeah I will Tensa..' Mugetsu replied awkwardly due to Tensas hinted comment.

'**Che, lying low is boring Tensa, are you trying to kill me? King I suggest going out there and killing those bastards for trying to frame you!' **Shiro roared enthusiastically.

'Idiot! Wow will Ichigo know who to look for?'Mugetsu heard a defining _whack_ echo though his mind as he winced on the outside from how loud it was.

'**OW! Tensa that's hollow abuse! You know those people aren't hard to miss!' **Complained the hollow and the two soon dissolved into a small argument that Mugetsu decided not to pay attention to.

"They do stand out…" His murmured to himself as he lay on the bed his eyes focused on the darken celling of his room. Debating whether or not he should try find these people who wanted his attention so badly.

"We do don't we? Makes is difficult to be sneaky, unless you're like me," Giggled a young female voice from his window as the figure jumped into his room and landed without a sound in the centre of his room.

* * *

><p>Aha Mugetu never gets a break does he :P Was Byakuyas reaction accurate? I wasn't sure how he'd react to his sister being a hollow so I took the cold approach and seeing how he doesn't know Mugetsu he's not likely to listen to him…<p>

By the way the next arc will be starting soon, wooo

Thanks for reading and reviewing

Next time: Can't Catch A Break


	23. New Captain Arc: Can't Catch a Break

Thanks for all the reviewing guys :D

Kvothe Arliden:

What I mean when I say "but that doesn't make him extremely powerful, as we all know" is the fact that he's always had monster spiritual pressure but that didn't mean he'd always win. See Grimmjow managed to beat the crap out of him, I know he was having hollow issues at the time but then there's the other battle with Grimmjow where he struggled. Then there's the battle with Ulquiorra when he actually died. So Mugetsu isn't more powerful then all these gods and what I mean is, he doesn't know how to use what he's got so it makes him weaker than the others. If you get what I mean, seeing how he was always more powerful than everyone in the anime but got his ass kicked a few times but I guess he has the potential to be more powerful, he'd just not there yet. Plus if I made him more powerful than the gods it would just get stupid. Hopes this clears it up….

IRAssault:

I'm not sure how many more chapters there will be, probably about 20 maybe, seeing as I've got one filler left to cover after this (no way am I including the one with banana man in it XD) and then this conspiracy to wrap up. Then there's the possibility of Mugetsu going to the Academy which will make it longer.

On with the chapter, I've decided to start the next arc now so here we go :D

Remember the pole.

I own none of the rights to Bleach, that goes to Tite Kubo.

_**'Chouko'**_

'**Shiro'**

'Tensa'

New Captain Arc: Can't Catch a Break

* * *

><p>"Who the hell are you?" Mugetsu growled at the girl who'd just jumped into the centre of his room.<p>

"That's not nice, I'm here with something very important to say!" She said, a pout evident in her voice which slightly reminded him of Chouko.

"Go ahead then," Mugetsu smirked as he squinted his eyes to try and make out her features in the dark, but it was pointless the only feature he could see was the outline of something sticking out from the top of her head.

"Master Bueelzebub sent me with an important message," She began in a happy tone, "He said to meet him outside Karakura High School in your spirit form in 3 days."

"Why Karakura High?" Mugetsu groaned.

"It was the only place Master Bueelzebub knew because he didn't know where you live…" She admitted shyly.

"Wait isn't he the one of the guys behind these murders?" Mugetsu asked suspiciously as he reached to turn on the light that was beside his bed.

"That wasn't him! Master Bueelzebub would never kill people for no reason! He sees no point in it!" The girl argued then proceeded to hiss when he turned the light on. Finally Mugetsu could get a good look at who he was dealing with, although he wasn't expecting to see what he did. The girl was the same height as Chouko but that was the only thing similar. Her skin was a charred black with seemingly glowing red cracks in it with the similarly coloured horns growing out of her head and sweeping backwards. A simple black gothic dress covered her cracked like skin as it draped over her shoulders and down to her knees, red ribbon laced up the front as well as being placed in her hair. The middle-parted long black hair fell either side of her face reaching down past her shoulders. Red eyes that should have glared harshly at him simply peered up at him in a soft childlike manner, pleading with him to believe her.

"Then why did someone say he did all those things?" Mugetsu sighed as he sat up and patted to bed for her to sit next to him.

"Master Bueelzebub said someone's been pretending to be people," She began as she hesitatingly walked to him and then sat a good foot away from him. "He's been busy hiding from all the people who think he did something wrong."

"Why would he come and see me?"

"Master Bueelzebub didn't really say, he muttered something about you being different to the others…" She trailed off as she cocked her head to the side as if she was listening to something, or someone.

"Uh..?"

"Iris, it's the name Master Bueelzebub gave me." She said, her charred lips curling into a warm smile.

"Right, Iris. How does he know I'm 'different' to the others?" Mugetsu scowled, hopefully this Bueelzebub didn't know who he really was.

"Master Bueelzebub didn't say," She replied, "One thing before I go, be careful with those you know, the shape shifter can become anyone they want."

"What? Hold on a second Iris!" Mugetsu called after the girl who was now jumping out of his window.

"Bye Mugetsu, don't forget to meet Master Bueelzebub in 3 days!" She called before disappearing into the night. Sighing Mugetsu flopped backwards onto his bed, falling asleep as soon before he hit the covers as he was more tired than he'd realised.

~/~

Mugetsu awoke to the sound of silence through the house. Sunlight poured through his window as he blinked his eyes in to focus and feeling more refreshed than the night before he climbed out of bed. He was about to put his gigai on and get ready for school when he felt a slight rise in Ichigos spiritual pressure. Sighing and figuring the others would cover for him Mugetsu jumped out of his still open window and raced towards the spiritual pressure.

When he got to Ichigo he saw himself arguing with a small girl in a pink kimono and then franticly looking around for someone.

"…is Rukia?" Mugetsu caught the end of the sentence as the girl in pink proceeded to jump on Ichigos back yelling about being hungry. Before she listened to what he just said.

"Rukia Kuchiki? Didn't you know she was murdered the other day?" The girl said her eyes tearing up as Ichigo froze and her two escorts ran past and grabbed her, leaving the silently raging Ichigo to be crushed by hollows.

"We'll leave this to you." One of the escorts said before the flashed away, stopping with the horrible twisted rise in Ichigos spiritual pressure.

"NO!" Mugetsu yelled, this was going to end badly. Why didn't Ichigo listen? He hadn't learnt to control his hollow and now this news was sending him into a rage. It had been difficult to control his hollow after the training but before had been a nightmare! And now being left as long as it had it was no surprise the takeover was quicker.

'Damnit! If Ulqiorra and Grimmjow had appeared then he would've realised how bad it was!'

'**One problem with that king, you killed Aizen. They have no reason to come here.'**

'I know that Shiro! Just what am I supposed to do now?'

'**Fight him while I go get Rukia.'**

'Fine.' Mugetsu materialised the albino who disappeared in the direction of their house. Ichigo however was on the rampage, fortunately the rampage had been limited to the surrounding hollows and he'd yet to notice the shocked girl and her escorts.

"Rawrghhhh!" The hollowfied Ichigo cried, his white mask completely covering his face. The rest of his body was also white with an orange mane that reached down to an equally long tail. The overall appearance reminded Mugetsu of a lizard.

"Kenryū…" Rurichiyo whimpered which caught the attention of the hollow Ichigo who hesitated for a second before charging at them.

"Ichigo!" Mugetsu roared as he kicked the hollow in the side sending him off in a different direction. The hollow growled, its yellow eyes narrowing as it glared at Mugetsu. "Come on Ichigo, don't tell me you're going to be beaten that easily! I know you don't believe Rukia is dead because you'd notice!" The hollow that had been walking forwards stopped and eyed him curiously. No sound left it for a few seconds before it let out a low growl and then a high pitched screech as its arms folded to its side. The tail which had been trashing around stopped and the yellow eyes narrowed horizontally as they looked over Mugetsus shoulder. Knowing who would be there Mugetsu turned to see Rukia stood in normal soul reaper clothes, her face completely shocked as she was lost for words.

"Ichigo?" She choked out. The hollows right arm struggled to rise but in the end managed to grab the left side of its mask. What followed next was much screaming as the hand pulled and pulled at the white mask and the completely ripped it off, exposing the now tired Ichigo who swiftly fell to the floor.

"You go after him, I'll take care of the hollows." Mugetsu called to Rukia who nodded and dived after Ichigo.

"**Fancy some help king? I haven't had a good battle in ages!" **Shiro grinned and without waiting for an answer went charging at the barrage of hollows.

"Guess there's no helping it," Mugetsu shook his head and followed after the crazy albino, who was laughing like a madman as he took down the hollows.

For a few minutes there was a flurry of blood and swords as the almost identical pair ripped their way through as many hollows as they could see. Although every time they cut down one another would take its place, not that it bothered them. After many hollows had been slaughtered a barrage or blue arrows arced across the sky, announcing the arrival of Ishida, Chad and Orihime.

"Where's Kurosaki?" Demanded the Qunicy, his bow poised at Mugetsu.

"He's down there," Mugetsu pointed to where Ichigo lay still unconscious with Rukia sat by him. "But before you go see him, mind giving me a hand with these?"

They agreed and before long the skies of Katakura were hollow free. With the hollows gone Mugetsu realised that Rurichiyo was gone, just like before, but he'd find them later and try to explain that Ichigo wasn't a crazy hollow.

They all ran over to where Ichigo and Rukia were positioned. The others stared at Rukia and then at Ichigo and then right back at Rukia their eyes wide.

"Rukia…What happened to you?" Orihime whispered as she tried not to stare at the piece of mask on Rukias head.

"Oh this," she smiled pointing to the mask, "it's just a new… fashion accessory…" Orihime seemed to buy the lame excuse but Chad and Ishida weren't fooled so easily, however they let it slide as now was not the time to interrogate Rukia.

"What's wrong with Kurosaki?" Ishida asked Mugetsu which made all the others look at him for an answer, apparently ignoring the the long haired white double of Ichigo.

Mugetsu sighed, "He has an inner hollow and the idiot didn't listen to my advice and get it sorted which is why this happened."

"An inner hollow?" Rukia mused, "Like yours?"

"Yeah, like mine, but mines under control," Mugetsu said causing Shiro to glare at him as the others eyed the albino warily, "to an extent." Mugetsu added on the end.

"So what will happen to Ichigo now?" Orihime asked as she tore her eyes away from Shiro and back to Ichigo.

"I'll take him to get it sorted so don't you worry, he'll be fine." Mugetsu gave them a quick smile before he scooped up Ichigo and flung him over his shoulder. "I'll bring you some news later," He called as he shunpoed away with Shiro on his tail.

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><p>Hummm.. I hope the chapter was okay, I struggled with some of it, guess the words just didn't flow…<p>

Ichigo turned into a hollow quickly because he's been holding it back for all this time and it's worse than when he would've battled Grimmjow if you know what I mean, plus the news of Rukia being dead made him rage.

Thanks for reading :)

Next time: New Captain Arc: Should've Sorted It


	24. New Captain Arc: Should've Sorted It

Sorry it's taken ages to update, been busy recently and I guess watching loads of supernatural doesn't help XD

Just a forewarning though, the updates may continue to be slow because I've got a ton of exams in coming up :/

Zeetthegreat:

Ichigo/Mugetsu hasn't picked up Nell yet because there hasn't been the chance, plus she won't even know him but that doesn't mean she won't appear later on. Also when he went to Hueco Mundo she would've already been kicked out by Nnotira so Ichigo/Mugetsu would've met her. Guess you'll just have to wait and see if I put her in or not :P

I own none of the rights to Bleach, that goes to Tite Kubo.

_**'Chouko'**_

'**Shiro'**

'Tensa'

New Captain Arc: Should've Sorted It

* * *

><p>Mugetsu stood outside of the familiar 'abandoned' warehouse with Ichigos unconscious body slung over his shoulder and Shiro standing to his right. It looked just like it always had, the old rusting steel walls still stood tall as they reached up to an equally rusting roof. The long front window was still cracked and broken in places as it hung above the huge entrance Mugetsu was tempted to break down, but that wouldn't send a good message. Instead he went for the quieter approach.<p>

"HEY! SHINJI!" He bellowed at the building. When he received no reply Mugetsu sucked in another breath, "I KNOW YOU'RE IN THERE! I BROUGHT YOU ICHIGO!" He roared again, and this time he got a reply.

"Okay, I hear ya so stop yellin' already." Called the voice of Shinji as he appeared just inside of the invisible barrier Mugetsu knew was there.

"Here," Mugetsu tossed Ichigo at him, "He'll probably be pissed when he wakes up so I'll stop by for a visit."

"I'm guessing you brought him here because of his hollow?" Shinji sighed catching Ichigo and Mugetsu nodded, "We were going to come get him ourselves but his spiritual pressure changed back and we felt him moving closer to here. How did you know to bring him here?" The blonde haired vizard studied both Mugetsu and Shiro as he spoke, his face coming to an understanding when he must have realised Shiro was a hollow.

"I was in a similar position once, just get him in control quickly, he needs to be ready in three days," Mugetsu smirked and was about to leave when Shinji stopped him.

"That's going to be difficult, I'm sure you know," He said a smile curving onto his face. "We'll try it, I'll tell him you'll be round to explain…?"

"Mugetsu." He said before leaving, Shrio still at his heels.

"**What now then king?"**

"We'll go back in about 2 hours which gives us time to reassure Rurichiyo about Ichigo, she needs to know she can trust him or this could all take a turn for the worst."

"**Tch, why don't we just go deal with those behind it? We know who they are after all and skulking around like this is boring, I need some action!" **Shiro growled.

"You just took down a bunch of hollows! Anyway, we have other things to do and we said we wouldn't interfere too much," Mugetsu sighed as they came to a halt in front of Rurichiyo house that was next door to Ichigos. The moving van had already gone and he guessed that they were already inside so he rang the bell, figuring that if they refused to drop the barrier he would get Chouko to let him pass through it.

"Who is this?" Crackled the voice of Kenryū from the speaker.

"Mugetsu, I'm here to talk to Rurichiyo about Ichigo and what happened earlier, so can you let me in?"

"We shall not put Lady Rurichiyo in danger by letting you in," He paused. "We shall come out to see you."

"Fine," Mugetsu said as the speaker clicked off and he turned to Shiro, "Time to dematerialise Shiro, we don't need you scaring them."

"**Bye kingy," **The hollow grinned as he disappeared right before Kenryū appeared, alone.

"I wanted to talk to Rurichiyo, she needs to trust Ichigo. It's crucial she does, he's going to be a big help for you guys."

"You ask us to put her life in the hands of a hollow?" Kenryū challenged.

"He's not a hollow. Look what happened today was my fault," Kenryū rose an eyebrow at him, "I should've known he wouldn't listen to me. Ichigos the best person to protect Rurichiyo because he'd be like you and Enyrū and wouldn't let anything happen to her, he's stupid like that." Mugetsu muttered the last part.

"We are more than capable of looking after Lady Rurichiyo," Kenryū said as he turned to go.

"Just let me talk to her!" His words fell on deaf ears as the bodyguard walked back inside, the door clicking shut behind him.

Mugetsu let out a frustrated sigh, there was going to be an attack later tonight and more would come over the next few days. He wanted to help Rurichiyo but this wasn't his time and he'd already messed it up enough.

'**Don't worry kingy, they'll come around. They did last time.'**

'You best head back over to Ichigo, he should be awake by now.'

'How's Chouko holding up?'

'She's… getting better it's going to take a while, she's pretty shook up about it still,' Tensa replied, concern lacing his voice.

'I hope she gets better soon… I should've kept a better eye on her and Grim..' Mugetsu clenched his fists as he turned in the direction of the Vizards warehouse.

'It's not your fault Ichigo, how were you supposed to know what he was going to do?'

'**You should listen to Tensa king, all this blaming yourself for things you have no control over has got to stop.'**

Mugetsu pretended to ignore them as he made his way towards the warehouse. He'd been longer then he thought and the sun was beginning to dip towards the horizon. He didn't have long and he still had to check up on Rukia and the others before the assassins would appear for Rurichiyo.

~/~

Mugetsu arrived at the warehouse and as he approached the invisible barrier he felt it make way for him. When he'd stepped through it sealed up behind him but he barely noticed as there seemed to be a lot of yelling going on inside the structure.

"LET ME GO ALREADY!" It was Ichigo yelling his lungs off. Mugetsu smirked, how typical of him, "I TOLD YOU I DON'T WANT TO JOIN YOU!"

"DUMBASS!" Yelled the voice of Hiyori and Mugetsu heard a defining 'whack' as he entered the room, "We're doing this so you don't turn into a hollow and kill everyone!"

Mugetsu watched as the blonde haired girl chased Ichigo around the room with her sandal raised as she repeatedly hit him. The others simply continued with what they normally did until they noticed Mugetsu and then even Hiyori stopped.

"Hey Mugetsu," Shinji strolled up to him, "You here to talk to him right?" he indicated to the exhausted form of Ichigo who sat on the floor.

"Yeah, then you can help him tame his hollow," He smirked, "I won't be long, but his hollow might take longer than you think."

"How long do you reckon?"

"Longer than Hiyori," Mugetsu said before walking over to Ichigo.

"Why're you here?" The orange haired teen scowled up at him.

"I'm here to explain why I brought you here, along with other things."

"I know why I'm here, but I don't need their help, I-"

Mugetsu cut him off, "I'm going to stop you there Ichigo, this isn't like you. You don't put the people you care about in danger, but you're doing that right now. Every time you go around using your powers he gets closer to having control of your body. From today on it's only going to get worse so it's best you get it sorted now, though it would've been better if you came to these guys earlier. They're good people."

"I'm putting everyone in danger?" Ichigo realised slowly, "But what happened today never happened before, it's only because that girl said… she said that Rukia was dead and…"

"You know she's alive Ichigo? I can send her to see you later if you want, but only after you accept help off the Vizards."

His eyes widened "She is?" Mugetsu nodded, "But what about what the girl said?"

"Rukia will explain, don't worry though she's fine," Mugetsu paused, "So are you going to let these guys help you?"

"I guess it's the only way isn't it?" Ichigo sighed, "What makes you trust them so much? You barely know them don't you?"

"Let's just say I was in your situation once and people like these were what made me able to help my friends." Mugetsu replied as he held his hand out to Ichigo. The still scowling teen accepted his hand and Mugetsu quickly pulled him up but not without noticing a small shock that occurred when they touched.

'That can't be good.'

'Well he is you and because Chouko isn't 100% right now you're going to experience some of the paradox which she's been shielding you from.'

'Great so if I touch him I'll disappear?'

'At the moment? Only if you touch him for more than 12 hours.'

'I'll keep that in mind.'

"Ichigo," Shinji called happily, "Have you decided to join us then?"

"I haven't decided to join you, I'm going to use you to teach me how to control my hollow," Ichigo said as both he and Mugetsu smirked.

"Whatever you say," Shinji grinned as the others all made their way to the opening of the underground training room. "Shall we begin?"

"Let's get it over with," Ichigo replied as he followed Shinji to the doorway, turning back when Mugetsu called to him.

"Good luck Ichigo!" He called, a slight smile on his face, "I'll tell Rukia to come visit you."

Before anyone could say anything to him Mugetsu disappeared outside and then quickly slipped through the barrier before charging home. The sun was beginning to set and the assassins would soon arrive. Only two days remained before he had to meet with Bueelzebub and there were things he needed to deal with before that happened.

* * *

><p>Again, sorry for such a slow post, hope you all enjoyed this one :)<p>

Next time: New Captain Arc: Night Visitors


	25. New Captain Arc: Night Visitors

Hope you guys enjoy the chapter, I was meant to post it earlier but I didn't get round to it but here it is :D

I own none of the rights to Bleach, that goes to Tite Kubo.

_**'Chouko'**_

'**Shiro'**

'Tensa'

New Captain Arc: Night Visitors

* * *

><p>The moon hung high in the air as Mugetsu dashed through the sky towards Rurichiyos house. Cool air brushed his face as it whirled past him, leaving an occasional howl ringing in his ears. Mugetsu could feel something in the air, like there was a charge setting him on edge and hinting that it was going to be worse than what he expected. Shaking off the shudder that crawled down his back his destination came into view.<p>

There was only one light on as it glowed through the curtains at the giant back window slightly illuminating the smooth grass in their garden. The green blades trembled and quaked as the shook in the wind clearly trying to voice their distress. Not that Mugetsu noticed, everything looked as it should be in his eyes as he debated the best way of getting the attention of those inside.

However, his pondering was cut short when two figures crashed into the roof of the house after ripping right though the barrier. Yells could be heard from inside the now partially destroyed building as smoke and dust clustered around the impact zone. An explosion of light and spiritual pressure set Mugetsu into motion and he dashed down. As he reached the roof three figures appeared on top of it; Rurichiyo, Kenryū and Enryū. They coughed and spluttered as they tried to decide on the best course of action to ensure Rurichiyos safety. The girl in question was currently clinging to Enryūs back her face struggling to hold its composure.

"…hold them off while you get her to safety," Kenryū said as he raised his zanpakuto, sensing the attackers were about to retaliate. "Go!"

"Kenryū…" Rurichiyo quivered as Enryū turned to go. But before anyone could move Mugetsu was in front of them and blocking both oncoming attacks with his single blade. He couldn't help but notice something strange about one of the assassins; it was as if they were holding back. Mugetsu could sense the potential power behind him thanks to Shiro and Tensa showing him but there was something else that didn't add up. There were two assassins in front of him when there should only be one and the one with strange power levels was the head assassin, although something was different about him.

"What're you doing here?" Kenryū asked suspiciously.

"I'm stepping in for Ichigo," He smiled at Rurichiyo who now had a fearful expression on her face, "Don't worry, Ichigo's a good guy, he's just having problems lately." Mugetsu groaned as his pushed the two assassins back down into the building.

"You need to go," He said to them and when they didn't move he sighed, "Now! I'll deal with these two."

Nodding they left but not before Mugetsu heard the worried voice of Rurichiyo express her concern for his safety, "Kenryū, will that soul reaper be okay? He doesn't seem to be that strong…"

"It's his duty to protect you Lady Rurichiyo." Kenryū replied, repeating the same words he had yesterday which caused Mugetsu to snicker slightly.

Suddenly a figure jumped out from inside the building and sent a wave of energy at Mugetsu. Sweeping his sword across his body Mugetsu sent out a dark arc of reiatsu which completely obliterated the wave of energy and then continued on to the assassin. The blast caught the assassin who hadn't been expecting his attack to be so easily wiped out. Readying himself for an attack Mugetus waited for the reiatsu to clear. Nonetheless before it could clear the badly scorched and bleeding assassin charged through as he send multiple arcs of energy at Mugetsu. As he did so the sword which Mugetsu now remembered was a bakōtō, a sword that consumed the user's spiritual energy, started to grow as it consumed its way up his arm.

Using flash-step Mugetsu managed to dodge the attacks which solidified as they hit the ground beneath him. With a final flash-step Mugetsu appeared behind the assassin and leaving no time for the enemy to react he brought Zangetsu down with one hard strike Mugetsu tore through the assassins' body. Blood cascaded everywhere its putrid smell filling the air as it hit the floor, its broken vessel turning into dust before it hit the floor.

"So you're that Mugetsu guy I've been hearing so much about?" crooned a feminine head assassin who appeared in front of Mugetsu, "I've been dying to try you out, guess I don't need this stupid disguise anymore." The assassin shook his purple hair causing the cloak to swirl around him. In mid shake the whole figure and the hair changed revealing a woman with long wavy blonde hair and a pair of black wings perched on her back. The black cloak stayed as it flapped around her refusing to reveal what weapons she was hiding.

"My names Amy, and…well I'm here to kill you," She said bluntly before disappearing in a twirl. With lightning speed Amy appeared behind him and brought down, what felt like a thin dagger, on Mugetsus black before kicking him away as he growled in pain.

Cursing Mugetsu tried to regain control of his body as he sped across the sky. After regaining control he went for Amy who'd appeared in front of him hoping he wouldn't have been able to stop himself. She blocked his strike but then disappeared in an instant leaving Mugetsu to fall forwards so she could have a go at his back. Reacting to this Mugetsu used his momentum to turn and face her so he could block the strike.

As her small dagger hit his zanpakuto Mugetsu felt a strange sensation skitter through his body and he glared up at Amy. Her black eyes sparkled with delight and malice, narrowing as his began pushing her back. Hissing caused him to tear his eyes away from her face and down to her dagger. The design of the blade itself was rather simple as it looked like and ordinary dagger, except it was black and seemed to absorb all light around it. That was the only part of the blade which Mugetsu classed as normal. The guard was made up of a thin snake which curled its way up the hilt, its head positioned at the end of the hilt as it looked up at Mugetsu.

Its body was a dark brown which crept its way up to just behind the jaw as it merged into yellows, reds and oranges reminding Mugetsu of a flame as the colours seemed to roll around the skin. Looking into the eyes Mugetsu noticed something different, this wasn't a normal snake there was something that got to Mugetsu as he looked into its feminine eyes. Sadness dwelled in the serpentine eyes as the snake looked up at him, its forked tongue flickering out at him before a smooth but distressed voice wove into his mind.

"_I'm sorry, I don't want to do this. Please help me…"_ The voice faded away as Amy pulled back and froze a few meters away allowing Mugetsu to take advantage of her sudden halted position. Mugetsu glided his sword upwards across her chest causing her to scream in pain as Zangetsu ripped through her chest. The puckered flesh gaped for a few seconds, allowing blood to pour from the wound before it proceeded to close. The skin knitted together leaving no trace of the wound that had been there only seconds ago.

Gritting his teeth Mugetsu pulled his hand across his face and brought his hollow mask into existence over his face. Tensing up Mugetsu stared at the black winged girl whose cloak was ripped and dripping with blood as it clung to the front of her chest revealing patches of clear healthy skin.

"You'll have to do better than that," Amy taunted as she leaned towards her dagger and whispered to it, "You better not do anything like that again or there'll be hell to pay." The snake on the blade appeared to shiver with fear as she spoke the words.

"What happened to the other assassins?" Mugetsu called, stalling so he could figure out a way to stop her and who sent her.

"I killed them on the way here, except that other weakling I just made him forget what happened." She replied back a cruel smile curling onto her face, "Now on with your demise." She pulled out another dagger which was the same as her current one only without the snake. With the smile still on her face she charged at Mugetsu and the two began a dance of blades as the block and parried each other's attacks.

Their metallic clashes could be heard across the sky with each meeting. Silhouettes of theirs flickered around each other as one tried to be quicker than the other in order to gain the upper hand. And although Mugetsu had been successful with blocking all of Amys attacks so far, he hadn't noticed the damage half her strikes had been doing to his stability.

As they clashed again Mugetsu noticed a flicker in the visibility of his sword and then felt more tingling sensations spread throughout his body. Pushing Amy back with a forceful Getsugatensho he jumped back to assess what was going on. When Mugetsu looked down at himself he saw that blotches of his body were being transparent and were beginning to creep outwards to absorb the rest of him.

"What the-" He spluttered but Amy interrupted.

"Wondering what's going on are we?" She grinned, dusting off her tattered blood soaked cloak as she did so. "Every time this little beauty," she indicated to the snake wrapped dagger, "hits you it exploits the cracks that have begun to form in your existence's stability. I'd say you have about 15 minutes left until you cease to exist."

"How did you know?" Mugetsu snapped as he squeezed the hilt of Zangetsu in frustration.

"We've all been told about you, he told us because he knows you. Ichigo." Amy grinned when she saw Mugetsus face twist into rage while a blast of thunder rolled through the now cloudy sky. Black clouds hid the moon as they swelled with the rain they wished to throw down on those below.

Tightening his grip of Zangetsu Mugetsu went for Amy but she blocked his attack with his blades. As he did so he heard the voice again, this time it was almost crying.

"_I'm sorry but you need to hurry, I can help you if you kill her. To kill her all you need to do is rip out her wings and stab her through the heart_. Now hurry, you don't have much time!"

The voice faded away as Amy pulled away but before Mugetsu appeared behind her. Now filled with resolve he grabbed both of her wings with one hand and sliced up cutting just above the skin to where they were connected. A deafening screech pieced the air as blood gushed from the two gaping holes in Amys back. Two holes that were showing no signs of healing like the over injuries he'd caused had.

Fuelled by rage Amy disappeared from few and repeated a move similar to what Mugetsu had just done to her. Coming from opposite directions Amy carved a bloody X into Mugetsus back causing him to cry out in agony. Not wanting the attack to faze him Mugetsu turned and took advantage of the opening that Amy had left after she attacked him. Jabbing straight forwards he pierced right through her heart and out the other side of her body.

The wingless woman screamed, but the scream soon became a blood filled gurgle as Mugetsu withdrew the zanpakuto from her chest and dashed forwards to catch her before she began her plummet towards the earth. She coughed and breathed heavily as she tried to focus her black eyes on Mugetsu. Blood poured out the front and back of her body, staining the rock-like bandages that covered his chest. The daggers she had been holding had already left her limp hands and began their decent to the ground, one Amy would soon follow as Mugetsus hands were starting to fade. He could sense Amys body falling backwards slightly while the tingling he'd been feeling in his hands vanished.

"Guess…you….still…lost…" She smiled weakly as she began to tumble backwards and down to the floor. Mugetsu tried to grab at her, he needed answers, but it was avail, she'd already dispersed into black spirit particles which shot towards the heavens.

"Are you okay?" Rurichiyos voice quivered from behind him. Turning Mugetsuts eyes meet with Rurichiyo and her two carers. Their eyes widened in shock when the saw the holes of nothing which spotted his body not causing him pain in anyway.

"Yeah I'll be…" He trailed off as the fading in his feet finished leaving him with blurred and blotchy stumps for legs. Unable to stand up Mugetsu collapsed forwards expecting to free fall to the ground but was instead caught by the big burly Enryū.

"What's wrong with him?" Rurichiyo cried her face distraught as she looked at Kenryū expecting an answer. The soul reaper looked at Mugetsu then back at the blonde haired girl and then back to Mugetsu. He shook his head unable to answer.

"I'm disappearing." Mugetsu said bluntly his voice quieted by the disappearing his was experiencing. The tingling across his body was becoming number and he could barely think straight as the vision in one of his eyes went dark. The most frightening thing Mugetsu found about it was the fact he couldn't feel anything as he began to cease his existence.

* * *

><p>Well looks like Mugetsu in a pretty bad situation, but where did that snake go and who was Amy? D: Find out next time :)<p>

Thanks for reading

Next time: New Captain Arc: Time Lives


	26. New Captain Arc: Time Lives

Thanks for all the reviewing guys :D

I own none of the rights to Bleach, that goes to Tite Kubo.

_**'Chouko'**_

'**Shiro'**

'Tensa'

New Captain Arc: Time Lives

* * *

><p>He couldn't see. Everything was dark. He felt nothing apart from a few hints of cold and warmth. The warmth came from the body of Enryū who was currently holding him. The muffled sounds of those around him barely reached his ears as he tried to distinguish what was going on. From inside his soul he could hear the whimpers of Chouko as she cried about failing her master. Mugetsu could sense Shiro and Tensa trying to comfort her but they too were disappearing, right in front of her. That only made it worse.<p>

Suddenly a different pitched voice reached his ears. It was familiar, but Mugetsus mind was too frayed and blank to remember. He vaguely felt then sensation of being passed to another set of arms. The cries of someone grew quieter. He didn't know who it was. Who was he? Why was it dark? What was this darkness? The questions formed slowly as his existence returned to how it should be. Non-existent.

Before everything could cease to exist it all came back. Threads of Mugetsus memories stitched back together and he began to remember everything. Feeling came back within his body and he could once again here the sounds of Tensa, Shiro and Chouko. Chouko was sniffing as the other two tried to console her by either giving her a small hug or playfully ruffling her hair. The next thing to return was his sight. His eyes opened slowly, as if they were opening for the first time, and were met with the glaring sight of the moon.

Turning his head so it was facing straight up, Mugetsu managed to get a look at his saviour. She had a heart shaped face which was framed by long curly blonde hair. The hair was pulled back into twin plaits on each side which were held in place by two pins decorated with golden snakes. The rest of her hair was allowed to fall freely as it pooled into Mugetsus. Olive skin caught the moonlight as she cast her eyes down to him. The eyes were the same as the snake, a blazing but at the same time soothing fiery orange, only there was no longer sadness dwelling within them.

"You're awake," her soft motherly voice sighed in relief, "I'm sorry for what I did, my actions were not my own. If you don't mind me saying, I'm glad you killed that winged bitch." She hissed and clasping her hands over her mouth she composed herself, "Sorry, anger was never my strong suit, I was only with her for less than a day, and I doubt I would be able to stand any more time with her." She shivered.

Mugetsu merely looked up at her, wondering when she would let him go from her iron like grip that had developed during her one sided conversation. He was just about to say something when a familiar voice called out, accompanied by the sound of its beating wings.

"Ananke!" called the truthful voice of Azrael, "I'm so glad that you're okay, you wouldn't believe how quickly Hades mood changed when he felt you spiritual pressure. He thought you were going to die."

"He actually cares, I thought he was the one to hold grudges," She said dryly as her nails started to dig into Mugetsu causing him to wince slightly.

"So did I, but it appears not." Azrael glanced at the wincing Mugetsu, "Maybe you should let him go Ananke…"

She glanced back down at Mugetsu and surprise wove its way into her face, "Oh! I'm so sorry, I forgot you were there. Here," She loosened her grip and stood Mugetsu up, only removing her hand when she was sure he wouldn't fall.

"Uh… Thanks…. Ananke?" He said uncertainly, wobbling slightly when she removed her hand. Looking around Mugetsu noticed that Rurichiyo, Kenryū and Enryū were silently watching the exchange, unsure what they should do.

"Yes that's me, you never heard of me before?" She smiled.

Mugetsu shook his head, regretting it when he saw the disappointment crash onto her face.

"I see," she turned to Azrael, "Have we been forgotten that much Azrael?"

"Times change as things become more modern and we become less believable." The angel sighed his wings ruffling slightly.

"It's saddening and I reckon one day we'll disappear because of it," She turned to Mugetsu deciding to tell him who she was, "As you know my name is Ananke and I'm from the Greek pantheon. My lover, Chronos, is Hades father. I'll admit not a very good one as he did eat his own children, including Hades, so our relationships tend to be unstable. The reason behind why I could cause you to disappear was because I aided the beginning of creation along with many others and I could therefore negate your wavering stability. Which I may add is no longer a problem, that child is free from trying to keep you in existence as I have created one for you." She finished with a smile, leaving Mugetsu speechless.

"That makes things easier, thank you Ananke," Azrael said politely. "I have a few questions I want to ask you about the situation, would you be willing to answer them?"

"Of course. When would you like to proceed?"

"Right away but first I believe these three have something to say," he looked over at Rurichiyo, Kenryū and Enryū. "What would you like to say Lady Rurichiyo?"

"Who are you?" Rurichiyo beamed, fascinated by the wings that were perched on Azraels back.

"I'm Azrael, an angel version of your soul reapers," he smiled and before he knew it the blonde haired girl was behind him and gently tugging at the feathers in his wings.

"Wow they're really soft, are you here to help Kenryū and Enryū?" Rurichiyo grinned as she peaked over Azraels shoulder.

The angel winced slightly from the contact on his wings, "I'm here for other reasons and I would appreciate it if you removed yourself from my wings Lady Rurichiyo." He said it with a smile but the edge to his voice wasn't pleasant, apparently touching an angel's wing was painful.

Feeling slightly dejected Rurichiyo moved away from Azraels wings and the angel relaxed considerably.

"I think it's time to leave Lady Rurichiyo," Kenryū suggested as Enryū picked up the young noble.

"What about your house?" Mugetsu queried.

"We'll have it fixed up in no time and Lady Rurichiyos room was left untouched," He indicated for Enryū to go so he could have a private word with Mugetsu.

"Goodbye Mugetsu!" Rurichiyo called while she waved over Enryūs shoulder as he carried her off home. Mugetsu simply gave her a warm smile and returned the wave too concerned with what Kenryū was about to ask him. Although he had a pretty good guess.

"I want you to become a bodyguard for Lady Rurichiyo, she appears to have become quite fond of you regardless of the little time she's known you. And-" Mugetsu cut him off before he could say anymore.

"I want to say yes. But," he glanced at Azrael and Ananke who were currently murmuring to each other, "I've got something else I have to do, Ichigo can help you. He always protects those he needs to and I know he'll take good care of Rurichiyo."

"Why do you suggest we trust that boy so much? How can I leave Lady Rurichiyo in the hands of that beast?" Kenryū quizzed sceptically as he raised an eyebrow in curiosity.

"What you saw my fault, don't ask how it just was. But what you saw will be what saves Rurichiyo in the end. He'd risk everything to protect her, I know it." Mugetsu said trying not to smirk as he found it ironic he was describing himself in this way.

"I hope you're right Mugetsu," was all Kenryū said before he to vanished into a flash-step and towards their house.

"Why'd you turn them down Mugetsu?" Azrael enquired.

"I don't have time to look after a nobles brat," he spat feigning annoyance.

Azrael stared at him, suspicion flashing through his eyes before he cleared his throat, "Moving on, from my brief conversation with Ananke she said that the person behind all of this knows you. Do you have any idea who it could possibly be?"

How was that even possible? There was only one person who knew who Mugetsu really was and that was the Captain Commander. "No… nobody comes to mind…" He trailed off into thought.

"Tell me if something comes to mind," Azrael paused, "Before we go I thought I'd give you a quick update. Grim and Anubis have managed to locate Beelzebub so they'll be back in two days, I'll give Ananke here a quick interview before contacting you again. I want you to know that you're help is greatly appreciated Mugetsu, I hope you understand that you will be rewarded."

"I don't care about any reward, I just want this to end. Too many people have died because of this person, even Rukia was almost killed by him… he will pay." Mugetsu vowed clenching his fists into a tight ball.

"I heard about her, the one you turned into an Arrancar yes? Fascinating, I didn't realise you had such abilities." Azrael said warily and then turned to Ananke, "Ready?"

"Yes, but may I have a moment with Mugetsu?" Ananke asked softly, calming the tension that had building unnoticeably around them. Without a word Azrael made a gesture for her to go ahead. Her slender figure glided over to Mugetsu, the gold silken robe rippling slightly as the air hit it lightly.

"What can I do for you?"

"It's not what you can do for me, Mugetsu, it's what I can do for you," She smiled coming to a stop less than a metre in front of him.

"And that is?" Mugetsu shifted slightly uncomfortable with how close she was to him.

"You'll know when the time comes. But know this, as one of the mothers of the universe I never forget the innocence of my children and I'm always there when they need me." She assured whispering into his ear causing Mugetsus face to begin turning red. With a small giggle Ananke pulled away and bounded back to Azrael.

A few seconds later the two disappeared in a twirl of white leaving Mugetsu to wonder what he was to do next.

'How're you guys feeling?'

'**We're better than before kingy! It's like that woman supercharged us.'**

_**'Ichi-ni I feel so much better! I'm sorry I wasn't much help, I…'**_

'Don't worry Chouko, it wasn't your fault I shouldn't have let that happen.'

* * *

><p>Next time: New Captain Arc: Checking Up On You<p> 


	27. New Captain Arc: Checking Up On You

Here it is the probably second from last chapter of the new captain arc. By the way, I made a Bleach AMV so if you wanna have a look at my shitty masterpiece hop on over to youtube with this link:

w w w . y o u t u b e .com/watch?v=m_2Q52P_gKo&feature=g-all-c&context=G24d91ccFAAAAAAAABAAo

Just remove the spaces :)

Don't forget the poles still going, I'll probably take it down after two more chapters, so make sure you vote for what you want.

I own none of the rights to Bleach, that goes to Tite Kubo.

**_'Chouko'_**

'**Shiro'**

'Tensa'

New Captain Arc: Checking Up On You

* * *

><p>With his spirits being somewhat supercharged, a game of tag had commenced after a quick exchange with each other. At first Mugetsu had been losing, but with some help from Chouko and Shiro they'd all managed to gang up on Tensa. Of course the young zanpakuto was furious with them, although he got his revenge later when the others had been sleeping.<p>

The first was Chouko. Even though she was a super powerful and intelligent being, that didn't mean she wasn't childlike in her own way. Since being in Mugetsus soul Chouko had creating her own collection of plushies which included Tensa, Shiro, Mugetsu and Ichigo. Not being able to bring himself to destroy the plushies Tensa simply hid them and replaced them with hideous look a likes.

The second was Shiro. The hollow had nothing of attachment unless you counted his mask and hair. Smirking while he did it, Tensa carefully pasted streakes of bright pink in the deeply sleeping hollows hair and then continued onto the mask. The mast was also painted bright pink where the black was and the white parts were left white. Signing his name at the base of the mask Tensa materialised himself for his next target.

Finally Mugetsu was at Tensas mercy. Repeating what he did to Shiro, Tensa dyed his hair bright pink almost in fits of giggles when he was finished. Afterwards he turned Mugetsus morning alarm off. With his work done for now Tensa dematerialised himself and silently laughed himself to sleep, excited for what the morning would hold.

All the dying of hair was possible thanks to Chouko. Before he 'defaced' her plushies that is.

~/~

**Morning**

"ICHIGOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Harribel roared through the house as Sun-Sung, Mila-Rose, Apacci and Rukia stood at the front door waiting to leave for school. She was in a rage with Mugetsu for two reasons, one was that he'd been disappearing repeatedly over the past few days and had left her a single note on the counter explaining why, completely inconsiderate of their feelings. The second reason was simply that he was making them all late for school and work. Harribel would've already gone by now but she wanted to make sure Mugetsu was going to school today.

Enrolling Rukia into the school had been simple as she was already a student there, all Harribel had to do was say that she was now living with them instead of the Kurosakis. So luckily for Mugetsu she wasn't annoyed with him for leaving her to clean up his mess with Rukia.

Regardless Harribel proceeded to stomp up to his room, although she was not expecting the sight she saw when she opened the door to his room. At first she was overcome with shock and couldn't say anything as the teen moved up to sit on the edge of his bed, his pink hair falling over his shoulders in its own mess. A puzzled look made its way onto Mugetsus face which grew even worse when Harribel bust out into a smooth hysterical laughter.

"What is-" Rukia cut herself off, as her along with the others had appeared at the door and then joined Harribel in fits of laughter when they noticed his hair.

"What're you all laughing at?" Mugetsu growled getting up from his position on the bed only to notice a swish of pink in his peripheral vision. Dreading what he was going to see he pulled a length of hair in front of his face and learned what they were all laughing at.

Slightly managing to contain herself Harribel said, "Why Ichigo I never knew you were this kind of guy." She then dissolved back into giggles as Mugetsu grew even more enraged, clearly not amused. To make matters worse Shiro decided to materialise, unaware of the current situation as he was half asleep.

"**Yo king, what's with all the-"** He began then noticing the pink hair went into an evil hollow-like cackle, unaware that he too had the same issue. Realising this Mugetsus eyes widened and the whole room went silent before collapsing to the floor in a heap of giggles leaving the still laughing hollow to figure out why. Not wanting to find out what they were in hysterics about Shrio gingerly reached back and pulled a lump of hair round in front of him, his jaw dropping when he saw the incriminating pink. Panic rising Shiro pulled down his beloved mask screaming in rage when his saw the pink that covered it. The rage didn't last long when he looked back up to Mugetsus pink hair and joined everyone in their hysteria that made his knees weak.

After what felt like minutes of laughter everyone came to their senses. With her pissed off mood gone Harribel reminded Mugetsu it was time for school.

"What? You've got to be kidding!" he exclaimed, "What am I supposed to do with this?" He pointed to his pink hair.

"Suck it up, you've got to go now," Harribel smiled as she turned to leave the room, "If you're not ready soon we'll drag you out."

With that they all left the room, but not before Rukia added something with a big grin on her face, "I'm sure everyone will love your new hair colour."

"Why you-!" Mugetsu started but the door shut in his face and he realised he had very little time to get ready. Grabbing his school uniform from his closet he began to get changed as the albino talked to him.

"**Do you think it was Tensa?"**

"Course it was, he was really pissed about yesterday." He replied as he pulled his trousers on.

"**Damn that zanpakuto, he could've at least left my mask out of it!"** Shiro paused, **"Do you think he went after Chouko too?"**

"I doubt he could bring himself to do something to her, but I guess we'll find out soon." Mugetsu pulled on his shirt and quickly did the buttons up. Then grabbing his jacket and a hat he dashed out the door calling to Shiro as he did so, "We'll talk about it later, so dematerialise!"

While walking to join the other Mugetsu pulled his hair up as much as he could and shoved it under the hat. As he rounded the corner he pulled on his jacket and then picked up his satchel before joining the others who were all waiting for him by the door. They all snickered slightly when they saw him but then sobered up as they exited the house.

Shutting the door behind her Harribel turned around before locking it, "I'll probably be home late tonight," she looked at Mugetsu, "And if you're going to be off somewhere tell someone, okay?"

Everyone nodded in unison and with a quick smile Harribel told them to hurry to school. Leaving the garden at a hurried pace which continued all the way to school, and the ocassional taunt about Mugetsus hair causing busts of high speed along the way.

~/~

**School**

The day at school was a slow but also an annoyance to Mugetsu. At first it was all fine, they got there just in time for the bell and only a few people bothered to ask him why he was wearing a hat. He'd brushed off the comments saying that he had a head cold or something like that and everyone continued on as they would. Keigo was his usual self and blabbered on about Mugetsu now living with five girls and how it was 'unfair', how wrong he was. Mizuiro simply sat on his phone, occasionally contributing to whatever conversation they were having, only really paying attention when Chad asked where Ichigo was.

Mugetsu had been surprised not to see his younger counterpart when he'd first got to school and assumed Ichigo would be in later. Obviously that was not the case and he told them he was probably ill, indicating to Chad, Ishida and Orihime that he would tell them later. Said three had apparently taken Rukias change in species pretty well, they interacted her like normal after all what would Mugetsu expect? He knew his friends well and like him they wouldn't abandon someone so dear to them over something like that, so long as they were still the same person.

It had reached lunch, Mugetsu had had no problems concerning his hair until then and assumed the day would run smoothly. That was until Chouko materialised right in front of him in floods of tears, clutching a group of hideous plushies to her chest as she did. As she wailed those who were spiritually aware turned in his direction while he tried to silently calm her down. An effort which was futile.

"Shh Chouko, I'll get Tensa back for you." He whispered in a very quiet voice.

**"But look what he did to them! And after I helped him dye…"** she trailed off her eyes widening slightly as the childish tears ran down her face.

Mugetsu eyebrow twitched and he whispered in a gentle but menacing voice, "You helped Tensa do this to my hair?" She nodded slowly, "Well maybe I shouldn't get Tensa back for you."

At those words her face instantly went from upset for annoyed and then a dark grin curled onto her young face. Flicking her hand upwards Chouko knocked Mugetsus hat off, chortling as she did so. A collective gasp rippled across the room from those who'd been watching, causing other to turn in his direction their faces trying hard to contain the laughter. Picking up the baseball cap Chouko danced her way out the room luring people's attention to the floating hat.

Cursing Mugetsu dashed out of his seat and after the hat, laughter following him as he did so. As he exited the room he was joined by Shiro and they both chased the laughing child down the almost empty corridor. Whispers echoed behind him as people wondered what was going on but they soon disappeared into sniggering when they noticed the hair.

Mugetsu and Shiro ended up chasing Chouko to the roof where she gave Mugetsu his hat back, a small grin still on her face.

"**Why'd you do it brat?" **Shiro snarled at her almost tipping her over the edge in laughter.

_**"Because I was bored, and Tenny-chan said he'd leave me alone if I helped him."**_ She looked down at the destroyed plushies she was still holding,_** "But he lied!"**_

"I wouldn't have thought Tensa would go that far…" Mugetsu sighed as he walked over to Chouko and gave her a small hug.

"**It's a new low for the mightly Zanpakuto, don't worry brat, we'll get him back."**

"You know that'll just provoke me again, after all you were the ones who started this." Tensas voice materialised on the other side of the roof as he leaned against the fence holding a small box.

"In a game of tag! It was just a small game, not some kids toys!" Mugetsu scowled, a scowl which deepened when Tensa spoke again.

"I didn't do anything to her toys," When he saw their confused faces he grinned and added, "They're right in here," he threw the box at Chouko, "I couldn't bring myself to deface the real ones. Oh and you can fix their hair now Chouko."

_**"My toys!" **_Chouko squealed in delight and while she discarded fakes on the floor, Mugetsus and Shiros hair returned to normal before she caught the box from Tensa.

"Thanks Tensa," Mugetsu said begrudgingly, "Just don't do that again."

"What's a little humour, we've been so focused on hunting down this person and protecting that nobles child, we haven't had time to truly have fun." Tensa shrugged before disappearing along with Chouko, who was clutching the box tightly, and Shiro who was polishing his now normal mask.

'I suggest you go check on Ichigo, he should've gotten control by now.'

Taking Tensas advice Mugetsu headed over to the abandoned warehouse deciding he would only be there a few minutes and then return to school.

~/~

**Warehouse**

When he got to there he walked up to the barrier prepared to use Chouko to get through but instead the barrier allowed him to pass, as if they'd been expecting him. Sensing they were underground he found he way to their trapdoor and hurried down the stairs, reaching the bottom in time to see Ichigo go sailing through the air, Hiyori right behind him as she yelled abuse at him.

"Mugetsu!" Shinji called happily, "It's about time you got here, we thought you'd abandoned us with him." He indicated to Ichigo.

"I've been busy, how's he doing?"

"You were right about how long the internal battle would take, we got worried there, thought we'd have to kill him. Right now he's just trying to manifest the mask long enough but so far he's only got 7 seconds." Shinji sighed tapping his zanpakuto on the floor.

"Is he able to fight?"

"Yeah, but that's not the problem. The problem is he's still scared of his hollow which is why this is taking so long." Turning Shinji yelled over to Ichigo, "Okay time for a break! Ichigo, come here for a sec'."

"What is it?" growled the tired Ichigo.

"I think Mugetsu has something he wants to talk to ya about," He grinned at Mugetsu before walking off to the others.

"…Fine, I guess it's about you still being afraid of your hollow." Mugetsu began, "Look just because you put the mask on doesn't mean you're going to lose control to your hollow. You've beaten him already and if you keep being afraid of him then he will regain control."

"Something like this happened to you before?" Ichigo raised an eyebrow, his scowl lessening.

"Almost the exact same position," he smirked and was just about to go when he remembered, "I need you to do something. You know that girl you encountered the other day, well I need you to be her bodyguard. Prove to them and yourself that you're not a monster and make sure you protect her."

"Why can't you do it?"

"I've got something else that requires my attention, look Ichigo you can do it because your hollow powers are going to be something that will save your life when you protect this girl." Mugetsu reasoned and as if sensing he was about to leave Shinji flash-stepped next to him.

"Leaving so soon Mugetsu?" he said glancing to Ichigo who was still in a debate about Mugetsus instructions.

"Yeah, I've got to get back to the others." He looked at Ichigo, "They're wondering where you are so I'm going to tell then."

"Bu-" Ichigo began to protest.

"But nothing, do you want them to worry? The last time they saw you you were a hollow, so if you really care about them and your sisters you'll stop being so afraid and accept your hollow half." With those harsh words left imprinted on Ichigos mind Mugetsu gave a quick goodbye to Shinji, telling him that he wouldn't know when he'd next visit, and left the building.

Setting a course for school Mugetsu increased his speed, sensing something brewing in the air.

* * *

><p>So a more light-hearted chapter this time, but things'll probably pick up next time :D<p>

Thanks for reading, remember any questions just ask and I'll answer them.

Next time: New Captain Arc: Crescendo


	28. New Captain Arc: Crescendo

So things start to pick up in this chapter and it'll probably stay like this for a while, which is never a good sign :P

Don't forget the pole, it goes down next chapter.

I own none of the rights to Bleach, that goes to Tite Kubo.

_**'Chouko'**_

'**Shiro'**

'Tensa

New Captain Arc: Crescendo

* * *

><p>Mugetsu was hurrying back to school at a quicker pace than normal as he'd sensed something when leaving the vizards warehouse. He hoped there wasn't something wrong, everyone was at school and he wouldn't be able to forgive himself it something happened to them because there was someone out to get him. Curling his hands into tight fists he let out a last burst of speed the school grew closer, so close that he could see his friends standing on the roof in their usual positions.<p>

Landing round the side of the building which contained the stairs Mugetsu slipped into his body which was slumped up against the wall. No one had seen his body thanks to Chouko putting up a barrier around it and luckily his was out of everyone's line of vision. As he settled back into his body his slowly rounded the corner, pretending to stretch and yawn as he did so.

"Been asleep there long Mugetsu?" Ishida quipped, pushing up his glasses slightly. Mugetsu glanced up at the sound of his name, what his saw was the usual. Orihime, Chad, Ishida, Rukia and he were the only people on the roof. So what was it that he'd been sensing?

"Can you're hair change colour?" Orihime said excitedly, "Because it was pink before and now its black, does that mean you can turn it blue? Or green? Oh maybe yellow?"

Mugetsu chuckled, "No, my zanpakuto was just playing a trick on me."

"Oh…" She said her enthusiasm put out.

Mugetsu glanced around noticing the fraccion were missing, "Where're Apacci, Mila-Rose and Sun-Sung?"

"They went to deal with the hollows so we could talk to you," Rukia said from her position next to Orihime.

"So where is Kurosaki?" Ishida pressed.

"He doesn't want any of you to know," Mugetsu rose his voice a bit when they began to protest, "And he has his reasons, he doesn't want to worry any of you. Anyway this is Ichigo we're talking about, you all know how he is." They all either nodded their heads in agreement or, like Chad they made a slight grunt. "Because of what happened the other day I took him to people who've gone through the same thing and he's already got it more or less under control."

"Are you sure we can trust these people?" Rukia asked.

"Sure we can, they'll treat Ichigo like he was family." Mugetsu smirked as he remembered what they had put him through, though that might be different this time.

"Can we go see him?" Orihime asked nervously.

"I don't see why not, I'll show you where he is la-" Mugetsu was cut off by a voice he's been dreading, but expecting, to hear.

"I'm sorry Mugetsu but you're going to be otherwise engaged," Sang the voice of Azrael as he descended to the roof, stirring up a gust of wind as he did so. Everyone looked up at where the voice had come from most of them showing shock, apart from Chad who merely tilted his head slightly returning it to its original position when he'd seen Azrael.

"And just who might you be?" Rukia demanded in her usual forceful tone.

"My name is Arzael," He studied Rukia for a second, looking at her as if he was looking into her very soul. When he was done he smiled slightly casting a quick glance over to Mugetsu before continuing, "You must be Rukia Kuchiki, the girl Mugetsu brought back as an arrancar. Extraordinary."

Rukia turned slowly in Mugetsus direction, "Why does he know I'm an arrancar?" she asked menacingly.

"I guess Anubis must've told him, he was there when it happened…" Mugetsu trailed off not liking the look on Rukias face.

"I wouldn't get mad at the boy, after all he did save your life and I would've found out anyway," Azrael smiled, easing the tension in Rukias body. The raven haired midget was obviously still touchy about being a hollow, something which she deemed a monster and killed for a living.

"You're not a hollow and you're defiantly not a soul reaper, neither are you someone like Chad and Orihime," Ishida paused in thought. "What are you?"

"I'm an angel of the Lord," he raised his hands towards the sky for emphasis only to receive blank faces. Sighing he dropped his hands to his sides, "I serve the 'Soul King' just like the soul reapers only we call him something different."

"I heard brother talking about people like you, you're from the…" she struggled to remember the words.

"Royal Guard?" Mugetsu supplied.

"Yes! The Royal Guard, how did you know?" Rukia, along with everyone else, turned to Mugetsu surprise along with (almost) hurt that he hadn't told them anything about this.

"I…uh…well…"Mugetsu said bashfully, scratching the back of his head in unease.

Azrael sighed at the boys ease of embarrassment and supplied the words for him, "We interviewed Mugetsu," Mugetsu snorted but Azrael continued on, "about a situation that has been going on. He was found guilty after we each interviewed him in turn and he's now helping us find the real culprit."

"Does this 'situation' have anything to do with Rukias murder?" Ishida asked clearly already knowing the answer.

"You're not as stupid as I originally thought Quincy. And yes it does have something to do with her murder," he admitted, ruffling his wings Azrael floated down to the roofs surface. "Anyway back to why I was here, Ananke told me as much as she could and we have a new lead. Me you and Hades will go and follow up on this lead, after I've told you all about it that is."

"Can't this wait?"

Azrael shook his head.

"Why do you need me?"

"You'll find out when I tell you about it." He clarified turning to go, "come on, we need to do this quickly."

Mugetsu turned to everyone, "I'm sorry guys, if you can't find Ichigo I'll show you when this is over."

"Ic-Mugetsu…"Rukia began, everyone glancing at her curiously, "Can't we help you too?"

"No," Azrael declared, "The involvement of civilians is strictly forbidden, I would've thought better of you Miss Kuchiki."

"There's something else you've got to-" Mugetsu was cut off.

"Now Mugetsu, we must go!"Azrael growled in a way that was unlike him. Mugetsu started to sense something was wrong as, he noticed, was Ishida.

"But-" again Mugetsu was cut off.

"Time is of the essence, I we don't act now Ukitake will be the next to die!" leaving all doubts behind Mugetsu jumped into action and slipped out of his body.

"Rukia could you take my body home?" he asked quickly, she nodded visibly trying to stop herself from going with them to protect her captain.

Mugetsu smiled, "Thanks, I'll see you all later." He and Azrael jumped into the air but as this happened those on the roof noticed something weird. Azraels body was glitching. They were about to warn Mugetsu but they were too late. Azrael had noticed that they noticed and had already struck out at Mugetsu.

The image of an angel quickly disappeared only to be replaced by a young man with similar looks to Mugetsu. Only the hair was much shorter and contained subtle streaks of white which appeared to reflect the sun. The boy was clad in a black suit that was completed with a pair of white conversers. A maniacal grin curled onto his face as he flicked a finger in Mugetsus direction sending a bolt of piercing tainted white light at his heart.

Unable to contain herself Rukia sucked in a breath and screamed at the downcast face of Mugetsu, "Ich-"

Her scream was muffled as a white hand clamped over her mouth and the owner behind her whispered, **"We don't want to give king away now do we?"** As it faded along with the hand chills worked their way up her spine causing her to feel an unnatural cold. She recognised that voice, but couldn't quite put her finger on it. Realising there had been no sound of cutting flesh, no blood pooling everywhere and no pain filled moan from Mugetsu, Rukia looked up at said teen.

There was a smirk on his face as he stared up at the boy in a suit. A shockwave of grey rippled around him as it hit an invisible shield and everyone on the roof let out a breath they hadn't realised they were holding. Mugetsus opponent was apparently enraged at this specific outcome.

"WHY?" The boy screeched, "WHY DO YOU PROTECT HIM?"

Mugetsu was confused as to who this stranger was talking to, but that didn't matter. What did matter was if he'd done something to either Ukitake or the real Azrael. Figuring he'd ask questions later Mugetsu charged at his opponent, bringing his zanpakuto into existence as he did so. His first strike was blocked by a dark crystal like sword that reminded him of the one Chouko usually gave him.

Pulling back Mugetsu readied himself for another attack. This one was also blocked and both combatants were locked in a fierce contest of strength. The boy gritted his teeth as Mugetsu pushed back with as much force as possible. Before anything else could happen the boy disappeared and a shower of blue arrows whizzed past Mugetsu, just missing him. Glancing down to the roof Mugetsu saw Ishida with his bow ready, Chad and his hollow like arm preparing for a strike, Orihime with her hands on her hair pins and Rukia, now out of her gigai, with her zanpakuto unsheathed.

'I wonder how Ishida got his powers back…' Mugetsu thought as he looked around the sky for his opponent.

'Don't you remember? His father helped him.' 

'I'd forgotten about that…' Mugetsu admitted and sensing something behind him he turned to be met with a sword swinging towards him. Summoning his crystalized sword he bashed the oncoming sword down and swept across the boy's body with Zangetsu. Slicing just below the collarbone and all the way across Mugetsu kicked the boy down in the direction of the roof. However, his opponent decided he wouldn't go down that easily.

In mid kick the boy disappeared and appeared to Mugetsus right only to be met by another flurry of arrows combined with a blast of energy from Chads arm. The projectiles mad contact, leaving a cloud of smoke where they'd made impact. Mugetsu was about to make his was over to the billowing smoke that rolled through the air when the sound of a bloody cough materialised on his left.

The body spat out some blood, "Tch, you'll have to do better than that, _Ichigo_." A smile curled onto his bloody lips as he whispered the words cruelly.

"How-" Mugetsu scowled, his words cut off by someone he hadn't been expecting to hear.

_**"Shimi why are you doing this?"**_ Chouko quivered appearing next to Mugetsu, anger shinning though her eyes as she glared at the boy.

"Because he doesn't deserve to live! He shouldn't even exist!" Shimi screamed in anger flaring his hand out to his side for emphasis, his wounds forgotten even as blood welled out the jagged laceration under his collarbone. Everytime he moved the loose flesh shivered and recoiled to reveal the bone underneath. Not even the singed skin on his stomach made him flinch.

_**"We don't decide who lives and who dies Shimi, I thought you knew that."**_

"I do but that doesn't matter anymore, he took it away from me when he split us apart!" Shimi cried as he walked towards Mugetsu intent on making him pay.

_**"How was he supposed to know! We were trying to kill him!"**_ Chouko appeared in front of Shimi, her hands pressed into his chest trying to stop him moving any closer, _**"Shimi please, don't do this, don't be like him!"**_

But Shimi didn't heed her words, with regret filling his eyes for only an instant before turning back to anger. He raised his hand, "I'm sorry but this must be done, all I need is a single touch…"

_**"Don't… it's not worth it…"**_ Chouko pleaded her eyes widening as Shimi brought his hand down with lethal force and backhanded her across the face.

She let out a child's scream as his hand made contact and she was sent sailing in the opposite direction to Mugetsu. Her eyes fluttered shut as she stretched out her hand towards Mugetsu, trying to tell him to run. He didn't know what Shimi was, nor what he could do, the truth was Shimi was Aizens half of the Hōgyoku.

"Chouko!" Mugetsu roared as he started to go to her, why wasn't she returning to his soul?

"Don't ignore me!" Shimi snarled appearing in front of Mugetsu his sword coming down for the attack. Mugetsu blocked risking a glance over to Chouko as he did. He Sighed in relief when he saw that Rukia had flash-stepped behind her and caught her, taking her down to Orihime when she had done so.

"I SAID, DON'T IGNORE ME!" Shimi screamed hysterically pressing down harder on Mugetsus zanpakuto. As he did so someone appeared behind Mugetsu and dragged their sword up his back almost carving through his spine as they did so.

"ARGHHH!" Mugetsu roared as he disappeared in such a quick flash-step that to everyone he appeared to have disappeared. In quick sucession he exited his flash-step and appeared behind the double of Shimi who'd attacked him. Repeating the movement the double had just enacted on him, with a slight difference, Mugetsu cut sideways through his waist sending a getsugatensho through at the same time. Disintegrating the doubles body's completely.

Now enraged Mugetsu stepped the battle up a gear. He and his opponent began moving so fast that no one could them, the only indication that they were fighting were the sounds of swords hitting each other and the occasional spark where they clashed. Both were evenly matched and Mugetsu knew this. He'd been debating the use of the Mugetsu move throughout the clashes. Tensa and Shiro begged him not to do it, reasoning that he should use the hollow mask before trying anything that drastic. Mugetsu complied with their request and pausing for a split second her pulled his hand over his face, materialising his mask that still felt slightly heavy.

'**Don't be afraid of it king, I've saved your life more times than you know.'**

'I know.'

Smirking under his mask Mugetsu charged back at Shimi who was breathing deeply, the wound on his chest was obviously taking its toll. Shimi looked up and a smirk also crossed his face before he disappeared into nothing leaving only a whisper behind, _"Only one touch was needed Mugetsu, I'll get my revenge on you tomorrow so be prepared."_

Not leaving time to dwell on Shimis words Mugetsu flash-stepped down to the roof, removing his mask as he landed so no one would see how similar it was to Ichigos.

"How's she doing?" he asked Rukia and Orihime. The small girl was enveloped in the usual golden glow of Oirhimes powers and there were no signs of injury as she slept soundly.

"She's fine, it looks like she's just tired from whatever he did to her," Rukia assured him and he relaxed considerably.

"What did he _do _to her?" Mugetsu looked at Orihime hoping she would have some clue.

Nervously Orihime scrunched up the material of her skirt before answering uncertainly, "Urmm….well I'm not sure because it was something I've never felt before."

Mugetsu smiled at her, "Thanks Orihime."

"Mugetsu," Ishida called getting the long haired soul reapers attention, "Do you want to explain what this is all about?"

"There's nothing to explain and you've probably got it all figured out already Ishida," Mugetsu grinned and was just about to get back into his body when the real voice of Azrael called out to him.

"I sensed something was going on and I thought I'd find you in the middle of it Mugetsu," The angel smiled before glancing at the sleeping Chouko and then descending to the floor. As he did so everyone was on their guard causing Azrael to raise an eyebrow, "Have I done something wrong?"

"Are you the real Azrael?" Mugetsu asked pointing his zanpakuto at the angel.

"Who else would I be, now lower your blade Mugetsu I've got something important to talk to you about." Azrael made a gesture for him to lower his sword and Mugetsu grudgingly obeyed.

"What's it about?"

"I cannot tell you in front of all these witnesses, but I'm sure it can wait until later." He glanced around, "And by the looks of it you have something to tell me."

"That easy to tell?"

"When there's this much hostility in the air? Yes." Azrael walked over to where Chouko was still shrouded in the orange bubble. He looked at Orihime, "May I?" he indicated to Chouko and Orihime nodded, "Thank you, you have remarkable powers for a human. How did you get them?"

"Well I was protecting Tatsuki from a hollow and they just…appeared," she said unsure how to explain how it happened.

"A noble reason for any power to appear," he murmured as he reached through the shield and touched Chouko on the forehead. After a few second he withdrew his hand and patted Orihime on the shoulder, "You've done a great job, she's perfectly fine. Any injury, physical or mental, has been erased and she's sleeping. She'll be awake tomorrow morning."

"So what is it that has everyone in such hostilities to me?" Azrael asked as he sat down next to Orihime which made her slightly nervous.

"Someone called Shimi came here pretending to be you and…" Mugetsu began the almost lengthy explanation on the events that had occurred before Azraels appearance.

* * *

><p>Hummm… what did you guys think of that chapter? When it came to Orihimes behaviour I got a lil stuck, not sure why though…<p>

Anyway, I wonder if any of you saw that coming, you know two Hōgyokus man even I forgot about that lil gem :L

Another thing, I have been thinking of doing little profiles on the OC's I added, they won't be amazing but it'll probably make it easier for your guys to keep track of them seeing as I keep adding loads, so shall I do it? It'll be two per story btw (:

Shimi, is supposed to mean something like moth, but I'm not sure on that one...

Next time: New Captain Arc: Betrayal?


	29. New Captain Arc: Betrayal?

Right the pole is down and you'll know the result at the end of this chapter, so enjoy :D

I own none of the rights to Bleach, those go to Tite Kubo.

_**'Chouko'**_

'**Shiro'**

'Tensa

New Captain Arc: Betrayal?

* * *

><p><strong>Unknown Location Outside The Seireitei<strong>

Rain.

Some people hated it.

Some people loved it.

Others like Mugetsu weren't bothered by the cold liquid that nature regularly threw at them. But the dark haired soul reaper was to numb to notice the water that soaked him from head to toe, chilling him to the bone. His eyes were shut in anguish as he sat unmoving under the cover of a few trees. Ghostly lines of tears were washed away from his vacant pained face as the trees offered little protection. The earthly smell of the rain as it hit the ground offered little comfort to Mugetsu as it slowly rolled down the bank and into the river in front of him. Not even the pain filled wounds made him stir as his blood mixed with the rain and joined it in its journey into the river.

He barely opened his eyes when he heard the squeals and happy cries as youths splashed around in the shallow river, apparently happy it was raining. He paid no attention to what the cried to each other as they played in the water. Mugetsu was too busy wallowing over what had gone wrong only a few hours ago. What had he done wrong? Why hadn't they believed him? Why…

Making his first movement in ages, the distraught soul reaper grit his teeth in frustration and with a tormented expression turned his head down and away from the laughing newcomers. They'd reminded him of what he'd lost. _Of what he failed to protect._

"Hey! Guys look there's someone over there!" A female voice cried from the river, the sound of water being walked through could be heard over the rain as they made their way over.

"I wouldn't get too close Hitomi!" A male voiced warned, "There's a zanpakuto next to him!"

_That's right, Zangetsus next to me…_

Mugetsu gingerly reached out and touched the smooth surface of his zanpakuto, wincing slightly as his wounds sent pain shooting through him.

"Hitomi don't go any closer, maybe we should go get a soul reaper…" A nervous voice reasoned.

_I should stop them…but I don't have the strength right now…_

"Don't be such a kill joy Shizuko!" Another male snapped, "Maybe he's dead!"

_I should be dead…_

"Don't say things like that! You know how Shizuko feels about that kind of thing!" The one called Hitomi snapped back.

_She reminds of Karin, always protecting Yuzu…_

Mugetsu cracked open an eye to see four teens about his age staring up at him from the bottom of the wet grassy bank.

"Look he moved!" The girl said excitedly.

"Yeah, he opened _one_ eye. What a big accomplishment," The first male voice said dryly.

_Another Shiro? No, no one could have the same sick humour as that annoying fucker…_

Mugetsu smirked slightly as he tried to cast his eyes in the direction of the boy who'd just spoken. The boy looked the same age as Mugetsu and has a slightly muscular build that was evident through the sodden blue rags he, like the others, wore. A well-defined face was barely framed by dark purple hair that spiked backwards, reminding him of the assassin who tried to kill him.

_The one that was killed by his bakkoto sword…I hope Rurichiyo is okay…_

"Why's he smirking at you Katsu?" The other male asked concerned.

"How the hell should I know?" Katsu retorted and sounded like he was about to add more when the girl called Shizuko spoke up.

"G-guys I t-think he's s-seriously hurt…" The girl stuttered nervously.

_Normally Shiro woul'ved made a smart ass comment at this, I hope they wake up soon. I feel so fucking weak without them…_

"Come on Shizuko if you want to join squad four after we make it through the academy and graduate then you need to get used to the sight of blood!" Hitomi said enthusiastically, Mugetsu could hear the sound of two footsteps beginning to walk closer. "Come on let's try healing this guy!"

The footsteps stopped abruptly and Hitomi snapped at someone, "What're you doing Arata? Let go!"

"Look something just feels off about him, I can't sense any spiritual pressure at all and you can tell by looking at him that he's not a proper soul reaper." Arata hissed thinking Mugetsu couldn't hear him.

_Smart kid, if only he knew the whole story…_

"He still needs our help! What do you want us to do just leave him alone and let him die?"

"I wasn't suggesting that! Let's just go get the soul reaper who's on patrol and they'll know what to do." Arata disputed earned a few murmurs of agreement from his friends.

_The can't! If someone finds me before Beelzebub comes back its over!_

Mugetsu couldn't form any words and instead a gurgle of blood was emitted from his dry throat causing a gasp from one of the girls. It wasn't the effect Mugetsu had been going for but it was better than a soul reaper being fetched.

"You sure about getting a soul reaper? He sounds like he's going to die any second!" Hitomi argued, "Shizoku go heal him I'll hold his sword so he won't attack with it."

Both boys remained silent as two sets of light footsteps made their way over to him. Mugetsu could sense when they stopped right in front of him and heard them both have a sharp intake of breath. While one knelt down in front of him the other went to his right a lifted Zangetsu out from under his hand.

"Look at this zanpakuto! It doesn't look the like normal ones we normally see…." She trailed off as Mugetsu made the zanpakuto disappear back into the black spiritual particles it was made from. "Looks like someone has some secrets," She commented.

"Um… I'm not very good at healing but I'll try my best…" Shizuko put her hands on the wound on his chest, blushing slightly when she did and was just about to start healing when a familiar voice growled through the air.

"What the fuck are you little brats doing?" Growled the harsh voice of Beelzebub from Mugetsus left, "You better not have hurt him!"

Mugetsu turned up to the man who could've been Azraels twin if not for the black hair, wings and incriminating horns that swept back out of his temple. He smirked slightly which earned a roll of the fallens dark eyes.

"Don't smirk at me Mugetsu, you're lucky not to be dead. If it hadn't been our day of meeting you would be come to think of it." He mused then glared at the teens who were watching them curiously, mainly Beelzebub's wings, "What're you brats lookin' at? Scram!"

"Why should we? We were just about to heal him!" Hitomi yelled.

…_Also a bit like Rukia…_

Mugetsu tuned out of the argueing as he went back into thinking about what happened. He hadn't expected it to happen and now everyone hated him. They hated him so much he was sure they wanted to kill him.

_Damn it! What did Shimi do?_

~/~

**7 Hours earlier, Karakura Town**

It was the morning after Shimi had appeared and Mugetsu awoke with a start. He was going to be late, again.

'Why did no one wake me up?' He demanded to his inner spirits

'**Yesterday was tiring king, what'd you expect us to do?'**

'You don't have to stay awake when I am!' Mugetsu sobered remembering Chouko was still asleep, 'How is she?'

'She's still sleeping so whatever Azrael did to her made her better. She should wake up soon.'

'Thanks Tensa.' Mugetsu tuned out the protests of his hollow and began getting dressed, reflecting on what Azrael had said yesterday.

/_Flashback/_

"_It seems like Ananke was half right with what she told me," Azrael mused._

"_What did she say?" Mugetsu asked, curious._

"_She said that the person behind the murders wasn't from this point in time and his abilities were like yours in a way, she said you'd know what I mean." _

"_What would this 'Shimi' want with Mugetsu though? They don't know each other." Ishida said. _

"_He must've had something to do with that Aizen you killed, probably wants revenge for it."_

"_So what're we going to do about him?" Rukia asked. _

"_From what you all said he's going to appear again tomorrow, we'll get him then." Azrael decided as he got up to leave, "I suggest you dematerialise her before going anywhere," he indicated to Chouko._

"_Where're you going?" Mugetsu queried._

"_I'm going to report back to the others, we'll meet you up here tomorrow during your lunch." And with that the angel had ascended off the roof and back to his base leaving Mugetsu with his afternoon free._

"_Looks like I can show you all where Ichigo is." He grinned._

_~/~_

_Later that afternoon he'd taken the others to see Ichigo. At first the vizard were annoyed with him but after realising that some of them held similar powers to them, everyone relaxed. He scowling past self was equally annoyed, but only with Mugetsu, of which he soon got over. Before leaving everyone with the vizards Mugetsu reminded Ichigo to go round to Rurichiyos that night and the teen grudgingly agreed. _

_/End Flashback/ _

Mugetsu finally got dressed, and just in time too as he heard the defining shout of Rukia echo through the house.

"Ichigo!"

"On my way!" He called back and grabbing his school bag he dashed out his bedroom door any joined the others.

"You're late, again." Rukia emphasised the 'again'.

"I forgot to put my alarm back on," he twitched, remembering it was Tensa who'd turned it off in the first place, "It wouldn't kill one of you guys to wake me up." He scowled at the four girls.

"I've got much more important things to do," Sun-Sung huffed.

"Like making yourself ugly?" Mila-Rose snickered.

"No, like making our lunch which I'm guessing you don't want today." Sung-sun smiled.

"I'll just go find a hollow." She replied flippantly before walking off.

"So you're fat as well as ugly?" Apacci deadpanned.

Sung-sun twitched, "What was that?"

"Oh nothing," Apacci smiled sweetly before catching up with a snickering Mila-Rose.

"I don't think so.." Sung-sun growled as she stalked after them and thus beginning the mornings argument between the fraccion.

"Come on Rukia, don't want to be late." Mugetsu teased before running after the others before the raven haired arrancar could punch him.

"Idiot! Come back here and take it like a man!" She ran after him, almost chasing him all the way to school.

~/~

**The Present, Unknown Location Outside The Seireitei**

Rough hands were shaking him out of his reminiscing as the voice of Beelzebub growled at him only to be followed by some protests.

"Come on Mugetsu! Get your lazy ass up, I'm not carrying you anywhere."

"What're you doing? You're going to make him worse!" The girl, Hitmoi was it? Protested.

"Shut up girly, I won't stand for any more of your bitching or whining," Mugetsu could hear the treat in Beelzebubs voice as the presence in front of him moved away.

Gritting his teeth he attempted to speak, "Beelzebub…leave them alone." His voice was rough and scratchy but it still caught everyone's attention, regardless of how quiet it was.

"I thought that might get your attention," he chuckled, "even when you're half dead you want to protect everyone."

"Bastard," He coughed with a smirk.

"Come on if we don't move soon they'll find you, only reason they haven't yet is because no one can sense your spiritual pressure." Beelzebub held out a clawed hand and accepting he pulled Mugetsu up which made the reaper wince.

"You're going to make him worse you know," Katsu pointed out bluntly.

"If he's survived this far then this won't kill him," Beelzebub replied gruffly.

Mugetsu glanced at the group of teens who he'd expected to run for a soul reaper the first chance they got, but thankfully they hadn't. He was grateful to them for that. As he looked at them he noticed that both the girls had similar looks. The one he guess was Hitomi was the taller out of the two with long auburn hair that was all pulled back into a messy bun that left her aqua eyes glaring daggers at Beelzebub.

The girl next to her had equally long ashen hair which had a French plait going across the top of her head and into a bun at the back. Her misty grey eyes were glancing from Beelzebub to Mugetsu as he struggled to stand up straight clearly debating something.

"Umm…" She began but didn't continue when Beelzebub looked at her.

Rolling his eyes Mugetsu asked her, "Ignore him, what's wrong?"

"I was wondering…if you didn't mind that is…if I could heal you…" she trailed off nervously.

"Kid we don't have time for that, we've got to get going now!" Beelzebub growled, "I sense others on their way."

"Who are you running from exactly?" Arata quizzed suspiciously as his golden eyes gazed at them cautiously. From first glance he looked quite feminine as he was almost as short as Shizuko. Although his scruffy midnight hair pulled back into a short braided ponytail did something to make him look considerably less feminine.

"That doesn't matter kid, look if you want to heal him you've got five seconds so go!" Beelzebub grunted reluctantly agreeing to the healing. With shaking hands the Shizuko reached out and touching just above the wound she slowly began healing.

"What're academy brats doing all the way out here in the rain?"

"We're not academy _students_ yet, our test is tomorrow-" Arata sighed as if it was obvious.

"Then why does she know how to heal?" the black angel growled, "and if she does more harm than good I swear I'll rip you all to shreds."

The girl healing Mugetsu flinched causing him to hiss in pain, "Don't scare them Beelzebub…stupid.."

"Tch."

"Umm, I learnt to heal from Emi…she works in squad four…" Shizuko whispered as she finished healing Mugetsus wound.

Chuckling darkly Beelzebub grinned at the girl, "Well I never thought you brats to be ones to receive illegal tutoring," when seeing their shocked faces he added, "Don't worry I'm in no position to be telling anyone about it."

She was about to move onto another wound but Mugetsu stopped her, "We've run out of time, thank you."

"So nice Mugetsu," Beelzebub teased before tensing up, "They're almost here," he glanced at the teens, "You should all go," when they didn't move he said more forcefully, "Go!" And this time they listened as they began to slowly walk away and cross to the other side of the river.

However, they hadn't left the area before four figures appeared. Two they noticed were wearing captain haoris and they listened as the captains exchanged brief words with the two men they'd just been talking to.

"How long are you going to keep this up? There's no escape for traitors!" A female voice spat.

"Until you bitches realised you're chasing the wrong guy," Beelzebub snarled and in an instant he grabbed Mugetsus arm and they both disappeared.

"For fuck sake Mugetsu I said I wasn't going to carry you," Beelzebub said wryly.

Mugetsu smirked, "You didn't have to." His voice was still quiet and raspy but I was better than before.

"And leave them to carve up you sorry excuse for a body? I don't think so." He glanced around still tense, something which rippled away when he decided they were safe for the time being.

"Che," Mugetsu twitched as he limped over and slumped himself down under an overhanding bolder.

As he began to close his eyes from fatigue Beelzebub spoke up, "Don't rest for too long we'll need to move again soon."

"Don't worry…I won't…" he replied drowsily before falling back into what he wished was a hallucination of the past few hours.

~/~

**4 Hours Ago, Karakura High**

It was lunchtime and Azrael would be arriving soon. Mugetsu, Rukia, Chad, Ishida and Orihime hurried up to the roof to meet said angel. Mila-Rose, Apacci and Sung-sun were out hunting hollows after an accident on the way to school that ending in Mugetsu being covered with their lunch. It was also around that time that Chouko had woken up dazed and confused, asking Mugetsu why he was covered in food.

As they reached the roof and flung open the door they found that Azrael was already there with his back towards them as he gazed out over the cloudy town. He turned to face them, his face set into a grim expression.

"Azrael what's happened?" Mugetsu asked worried.

"Another noble was killed last night along with two being kidnapped," he sighed a frown creasing further onto his face.

"Who?" Rukia demanded hoping it wasn't one of the Kuchikis.

"A woman from the Livingston group and two sisters from the Zeno group," He rubbed his temples, "I would've brought Hades but he was furious when he heard the news and I deemed him un fit for a mission that contained working with Mugetsu."

Everyone gave Mugetsu a curious glance which Azrael then explained, "He still thinks Mugetsus guilty, blinded by his rage he makes foolish decisions like this."

"So what're we going to do about Shimi?" Mugetsu pressed as he like everyone else sensed something heading in their direction.

"I've called back Anubis and we've asked for the assistance of Captain Sui-Fēng and Captain Ichimaru, they'll aid us in subduing this 'Shimi'."

"They didn't execute Gin?" Mugetsu said surprised.

"No, central 46 decided it best not to make the Gotei down two captains, but it's only one right now thanks to the new replacement Captain Amagai." As Azrael finished Sui-Fēng , Ichimaru and Grim all appeared next to him.

"Where's Kurosaki?" Anubis sighed, noticing the substitute's absence.

"Ichigo is…" Mugetsu began not sure how to avoid saying that Ichigo was off hunting for Rurichiyo who'd disappeared this morning, after having Ichigo defend her in another assassination attempt.

"Kurosaki's been busy lately so he doesn't know about this." Ishida clarified in a tone that said they didn't need to know anymore.

"He'll probably jump in when the fighting starts," Rukia added gaining the attention of the two captains.

"Heyy Rukia," Gin said with a creepy smile.

"Kuchiki what're you doing here? I thought you were still injured after being almost killed," Sui-Fēng said skipping the pleasantries.

"Well I.." Rukia didn't know where to begin, not that she needed to because at that moment Shimi appeared.

"How nice of you all to come greet me, I'll enjoy cutting you all up!" he cackled from above them.

"Shimi!" Mugetsu roared and before anyone could stop him he was out of his gigai and launching himself at the dark haired boy.

"Why hello Mugetsu," He said a cruel smile curling onto his face as he did so. Stopping Mugetsu blade with his bare hand he kicked him in the stomach and sent Mugetsu flying across the sky.

"Damn it!" Mugetsu cursed as he tried to stop himself from speeding away. Glancing down at the roof Mugetsu noticed that everyone was looking at him in confusion, but not moving.

"What did you do to them?" He screamed to Shimi while he started speeding towards the roof.

"Well, I stopped them from moving, which by the way they think is your doing, and in their eyes you're having a nice little rough and tumble with one of the missing nobles," Shimi grinned when he found he got a reaction from Mugetsu.

"You bastard!" He raced forwards and sliced up Shimis torso which seemed to make the boy very happy.

"Well Mugetsu you've just proved your guilt, n-" Mugetsu wasn't listening and began a barrage of quick attacks from all directions. But even when his attacks hit, Shimi appeared not to care as he healed up each one right away.

"Aww Mugetsu did you have to kill them both off so quickly? They were only 13 and 15 years old," Shimi pouted, "I mean look at what you did to their bodies…" He indicated to two bodies which lay across from the school roof in a bloodied heap and completely shredded. Mugetsu stared wide-eyed at the bodies, his whole body going numb from what he'd just done. How could he? Why hadn't he noticed?

"Now now Mugetsu don't look so upset," Shimi said in a mock sweet voice, "because if you do then I'll kill this girl right here."

Mugetsu glanced up to see an unconscious Rurichiyo being held by the scruff of the neck.

"Don't! Leave her out of this of I will kill you!" Mugetsu growled as he tried to grab for her. Shimi pulled her back, just out of his reach and at the same time he materialised his sword in his other hand, stabbing Mugetsu right through the chest as he did so.

"Oh no, you see I've got a few things to explain to you first," Shimi said as he twisted the sword slightly to the left causing Mugetsu to cry out in pain.

Blood welled in his mouth as he asked, "What?"

"Well I'm going to take everything away from you, let you live for a while and then kill you," he twisted the sword again slightly, earning another scream from Mugetsu. "Right now you're stabbing me through the chests, you see I've messed around with their minds so that they think I'm on their side and you've betrayed them all." He grinned as he twisted the sword again.

_**'Ichi-ni! Let me-' **_

'**Shit! King quick sto-'**

'He's putting us-'

One by one the spirits in Mugetsu were cut off, leaving the soul reaper feeling slightly drained.

"Now that's better isn't it, now annoying voiced screaming about the place. So where was I?" He paused, "Oh yes," he twisted the sword again so that it had almost done a ninety degree turn, "You see the reason I'm doing this is because when you attacked Aizen with your Mugetsu move and sliced right through the _complete_ hogyoku you split me and Chouko in half." He twisted the sword one last time so that it was now at a ninety degrees to when it first entered his chest, "I appeared back in time a week or so before you did and that allowed me to start my plan, but I'm not going to give you _all _the details."

Shimi pulled his sword out of Mugetsus chest and kicked the soul reaper back slightly.

"Oh and did you think I was going to kill this girl," he said causing Mugetsu to look up, only to see that it had been an illusion and he wasn't really holding Rurichiyo. Scowling deeply Mugetsu got up and was about to launch another attack but as he did Shimi clicked his fingers.

Multiple bloody wounds appeared all over Shimis body along with a mirror image of the one Mugetsu had in his chest. With a smirk on his face Shimi pretended to faint. His body appeared to go limp and he began a quick descent towards the hard concrete of the road below.

"Those other bodies were real." Shimis voice whispered through the air. A scream echoed from the schools roof as Shimi fell and the next thing Mugetsu saw though his slightly blurred vision was the orange triangle of Orihimes shield catching the rapidly falling boy.

"No.." Mugetsu whispered to nobody, "Don't save him…Orihime…don't…"

"Mugetsu you shall pay!" The enraged voice of Anubis howled as he along with Azrael, Gin and Sui-Fēng all charged at him their weapons poised to attack. They all nodded to each other and suddenly disappeared into what he guessed was a flash-step before they appeared from different directions around him.

Cursing Mugetsu managed a small flash-step himself and avoided the attacks. He gritted his teeth and clawed his way up to him feet coughing slightly when he was up right. The wound through his chest had already soaked through the rock hard bandages and the putrid stench of blood polluted the air. Suddenly Mugetsu felt a sharp sting being craving its way down his shoulder and bringing Zangetsu round he managed to sweep Azraels blade up and away from his shoulder. Taking a breath Mugetsu tried to think of a way out of this situation. He couldn't open a garganta and that was the only immediate way he had of escaping.

Maybe he could get Harribel or…No. he wouldn't bring them into this. They had enough trouble as it was keeping a low profile, it was already a wonder that the soul society hadn't noticed them but Shimi could've also had something to do with that. What was he going to-

His trail of though was cut off as a black whirlwind formed around him and he began to feel an itching sensation across his body. But as the whirlwind continued the itching grew deeper into his skin and that when Mugetsu began to feel the sticky wet sensation of his own blood. Clenching his teeth Mugetsu grabbed Zangetsu and began to spin, holding a getsuga tensho around his blade as he did hoping it would dispel the raging tunnel of wind which entombed him.

Smirking when his idea worked Mugetsu used a half-hearted shunpo and moved a distance away from his attackers. But that ment he moved closer to the roof where he could see the disappointment in both Orihimes and Rukias eyes. They didn't want to believe it but before they could say anything the sound of Chad yelling, "El Directo!" pierced arcoss the sky as he and Ishida sent a barrage of arrows and energy in his direction.

With no time to move Mugetsu thought he was as good as dead, that was until a pissed off voice growled in front of him, "What the fuck do you think you're doing? Stop crying on the floor and give me your hand!"

Willing to do anything Mugetsu silently stretched out his hand to the stranger who grabbed it roughly before disappearing.

'_Your soul is one big shitting mess, but there's no time for that I can lend you some strength so do something to slow them down while I open you a gargata!' _

'_I'm Beelzebub by the way.'_ The voice added leaving Mugetsu feeling slightly more powerful. And knowing what he had to do he muttered one word in the direction of the oncoming two captains and royal guard members.

"Mugetsu."

The sky in their direction went black and Mugetsu felt his power-up drain away leaving him barely able to keep conscious.

"Why? Why did you betray us?" Rukia screamed as she pulled out a soul candy dispenser so she could leave her body.

"Rukia…"

"No! We trusted you! And you killed all those people, I thought…" She trailed off as she grew even more enraged.

"Mugetsu, why did you hurt all those people?" Orihime asked timidly.

"Orihime…I didn't do anything! Why don't you guys believe that?" He cried as unwanted tears welled out his eyes. He looked at Chad and Ishida through his blurry haze expecting them to say something. But the only thing they had to say was conveyed through their attacks as they prepared to launch a second barrage at him. It wouldn't matter if it hit him, the reason from him wanting to come back was pointless, because they all hated him.

'_To hell if you're dying here!'_ The voice of Beelzebub growled in his mind before the real person appeared next to him. And grabbing him round the waist he pulled Mugetsu into a garganta that wasn't supposed to take them to the soul society, but it did.

When they landed everything was a messed up blur to Mugetsu. He could barely hear anything as Beelzebub propped him up against something solid, muttering that he should be safe there for the time being.

How wrong Beelzebub was.

Only 30 minutes later were they on the move as they were pursued relentlessly by Azrael, Anubis, Sui-Fēng and Gin. They only managed to lose them for a short while thanks to Beelzebub being able to send clones of them off in another direction. It was only then that Mugetsu was left slumped up against a tree, while Beelzebub went to contact Iris, which was when the haze began to lift from Mugetsu and he could start thinking clearly.

(Resumes from the piece at the star of the chapter :L)

~/~

**Present Time, Unknown Location Outside The Seireitei**

As Mugetsu opened his eyes he could hear the sound of approaching footsteps which sent the man next to him jumping into action, just as the person rounded the corner.

"I wouldn't try it Beelzebub" Warned the voice of Ananke as she came into Mugetsus view. "You're worse than I thought!" She ran over to Mugetsu and put her hand on his head, "I'll heal some of your wounds, if I use too much power they'll-"

"OI! Lady! Who the fuck are you?" Snarled Beelzebubas he walked up to her side and reached out to grab her shoulder.

"I wouldn't do that," she warned again causing him to stop.

"Then tell me who you are."

"You fallen are all the same, I can see why you were kicked out," She mused still facing Mugetsu, "As for who I am, I'm Ananke."

"I see," He relaxed and sat next to Mugetsu, "What brings you out here?"

"Him," She indicated to Mugetsu as a gentle white glow started to envelop him.

"Of course."

The white glow began to dissipate as quickly as it appeared and with it came coughing from Mugetsu as he tried to heave up the remaining blood in his lungs.

"That should keep you alive, the rest of the wounds are only small cuts and your hollow powers will heal them when he wakes up." She said to Mugetsu as he coughed up the blood to his side.

"Thank you," he rasped, "but how did you know?"

"I've known since the day we battled, but I wasn't completely sure of Shimis intentions." She cast her eyes down, "I'm sorry I allowed it to happen but there wasn't much I could do. It seems like he's manipulated the minds of almost everyone who's meet him, that you know."

"No shit Sherlock, even I could've figured that out," Beelzebub sneered.

"What now then? I can't back, everyone wants to kill me…" Mugetsu said almost relapsing back into his mind.

"That's why I'm here, as well as to heal your wounds I came here to offer you to idea of going to the Soul Reaper Academy," She beamed thinking it was the best idea ever.

"What the fuck?" Mugetsu an Beelzebub said in unision.

* * *

><p>So a pretty long chapter, hope you all enjoyed it :)<p>

Last time I said I'd start writing about OC's so here's the first two (There won't be much on them but oo well):

**Name:** Chouko (butterfly child)

**Species:** Unknown (Hogyoku half)

**Age:** Unknown (Acts like a child)

**Residence:** Mugetsu/Ichigos soul

**Creator:** Urahara Kisuke

**Powers:** Unknown (Can do almost anything)

**Personality:** Kind, cares about Mugetsu, possible craziness.

.

**Name: **Shimi (Moth, I think)

**Species:** Unknown (Hogyoku half)

**Age:** Unknown (Acts like)

**Residence:** Wherever he pleases

**Creator: **Aizen Souske

**Powers:** Unknown (Can do what Chouko can't do)

**Personality:** Similar to Aizen (has similar ideals just no god complex, yet), hates everyone, uses and abuses..

Next time: New Captain Arc: Wanted list, No.1


	30. New Captain Arc: Wanted list, No1

Thanks to all the guys who reviewed :) I meant to mention it before but I always forget, and we reached the 100 mark…a while ago but again I forget, didn't expect it to get there so keep up the reviewing XD

Btw if any of you are interested, there's another pole on my profile for another fic about what might've happened if Aizen won. So take a look and vote for who you want in it :) (it shall include their death, but don't let that put you off)

I own none of the rights to Bleach, those go to Tite Kubo.

New Captain Arc: Wanted list, No.1

* * *

><p>Ananke raised her perfectly shaped eyebrows, "I wasn't expecting such an outburst, the idea isn't that ludicrous."<p>

"Che." Beelzebub growled before sitting down next to Mugetsu.

"Why would I want to go there? They'll just find me an execute me," Mugetsu whispered with an almost vacant expression on his face.

"Looks like the kids still beat up about it," Beelzebub sighed, "Come on Mugetsu, there's nothing you could've done. You didn't know Shimi was the other half of the Hogyoku."

Instead of answering Mugetsu just remained in a silent stillness.

"He's right Mugetsu." Ananke agreed, "Now all you need to do is lay low for a while, and where else to do so than behind enemy lines?"

"The Lady's got a point." Beelzebub looked at Ananke who was still kneeing in front of Mugetsu, "Thing is, how do you know so much?"

"You don't need to look at me like that Beelzebub, I was going to explain all I know, and how" Ananke said gaining Mugetsu attention. "First off there's Shimi. As you both know he's Aizen Souskes half of the complete Hogyoku. He came back with you Mugetsu, or should I say Ichigo."

Mugetsu scowled up at her, "How did you know?"

She laughed, "I knew you were dense but I didn't think you were this dense." Mugetsu twitched, "Now now Mugetsu, but I suppose it's not your fault you don't know much about who I am."

"And that is?"

"I was just about to say, just be patient." She smiled, "I told you before I was there at the beginning of creation and truth be told, so was my husband and of course the soul king. Now being that my husband is master over time I can request to use his power for my own purposes and that is how I know who you are and when you're from, in fact I even gave your Hogyoku a helping hand to bring you back here. Although I was unaware you'd split it in half until it was too late."

"So you brought me back, I killed Aizen but even after all of that I haven't reduced the bloodshed that I caused," Mugetsu commented bitterly, angry with himself for not realising what Shimi was up to and being unable to protect everyone. Especially Rukia, who died because Shimi wanted to get at him.

"Look kid I don't see-" Beelzebub was cut off by the now furious black haired reaper.

"If I'd been strong enough to kill Aizen right at the start none of this would've happened! Rukia wouldn't have died and neither would any of the nobles Shimi killed!" Mugetsu squeezed his hand into a tight ball and would've smashed it into the ground had Ananke not stopped him.

"Mugetsu you seem to forget that you're only human," she gently let his hand drop to the floor, "You can't expect yourself to be able to protect everyone just because you think you failed to do so once."

She was talking about his mother. Mugetsu always blamed himself for her death believing that if he had somehow been stronger he wouldn't have let her sacrifice herself.

"But-"

"But nothing," Ananke interrupted, "you were too young to know what would've happened and much too young to be able to take down a hollow such as the Grand Fisher." She smoother his hair out of his eyes, in a motherly way and would've continued to console him had Beelzebub not coughed.

"Thats nice and all, but we're not here for a counsellin' session," he said dryly. "Now, this Shimi guy. Why would he go round killing nobles instead of going for Mugetsu straight away? I know I would."

"That's because you only like to watch people suffer physical pain, not emotional," Ananke said, "The idea of killing nobles was originally part of Aizen Souskes fail safe plan."

"That doesn't seem his style," Mugetsu commented.

"So he kills a bunch of nobles all around the word and then what? All the remaining ones go crying to him for protection not realising it's him they should be getting protection against?" Beelzebub mused.

"Bastard, I'm glad I killed him when I did."

"Almost completely spot on," Ananke smiled, "Only they wouldn't go running to him for protection, he'd take control and eventually find another way to where the soul king resides. Although that was his last resort. He managed to get quite a few fallen, grim reapers, Egyptians and Greeks into his cause which is who Shimi has been using to enact his revenge."

"I tried to persuade my brothers to resist his temptations, only a few listened to me. To think they wanted a world bathed in blood shames me," Beelzebub shook his head; disgraced with those he's considered brothers until the end.

"Why would these guys care about Shimis revenge on me? I've never even heard of them, " Mugetsu frowned

"They're loyal to Shimi, who knowing you'd kill Aizen demonstrated his power to them to gain their support for his plan. When you arrived he was always hiding in your shadow, trying to manipulate your thoughts and make you appear guilty in the eyes of the royal guard." As Ananke said it Mugetsu remembered the one time he'd been walking home and remembered a presence watching him, could that have been Shimi?

"His plan was made easier as he arrived earlier than you, he'd spent the past week killing nobles and leaving traces, which led to you, behind. And along with his ability to manipulate minds he managed to turn everyone you know against you." She finished and began to get up.

"Seems like a lot of trouble just to get back at Mugetsu," said the dark haired man in almost a snicker.

"I doubt you'd like your soul to be spilt in two," Ananke snapped then added hastily, "Not that it gives Shimi any excuse."

"Next time you get an enemy kid, get one you can take down with a single strike," Beelzebub deadpanned.

Mugetsu smirked, "Yeah I'll pick out the weakest guy I see next time."

"I would hope there's not a next time, you need a break," Ananke said as she materialised a brown sack.

"What's that?" Mugetsu asked.

"It's a sack, kid I would've thought you'd be able to know that. And guess what she's going to use it for?" He paused, "To kidnap you and whisk you off to Greek land."

"…" Mugetsu just stared at him, speechless.

"I'd rather you didn't push your sick fantasies off onto me," Ananke said giving a smile that was worthy of Unohana.

"Bitch," he growled.

"You two want some time alone?" Mugetsu smirked trying hard not to blush with the thought of what he was suggesting.

"No!" They both yelled, glaring at each other afterwards.

"Nice blush Mugetsu," Beelzebub teased.

"Even after all this Mugetsus innocence remains, cute," Ananke chipped in causing Mugetsu to twitch and turn slightly redder, if that was possible.

"Wh-" Mugetsu was about to rant at them but Ananke cut him off.

"Anyway, inside this sack are a set of Rukongai clothes for Mugetsu and three bands, which I will explain." She threw the sack at Mugetsu, "One band will change your appearance while the other shall bring your spiritual pressure down so people can sense it and change its frequency slightly. If anyone asks, they were a gift from a family you used to live with until they were killed by hollows which is why you decided to become a soul reaper."

"What am I supposed to do while he's there?" Beelzebub asked.

"You'll go find as much as you can about Shimi and visit Mugetsu once every two weeks, and that's also the reason for the third band. But I'll explain that later," She looked back at Mugetsu, "Now you'll need a new name-"

"Sorry to interrupt Lady but we've been here long enough, we need to move before they find us again."

"I shouldn't worry about that, they'll be getting an order soon to go infiltrate the Kasumiōji house and stop the production of the bakkoto." Ananke paused, "That reminds me, the captain you warned Commander Yamamoto about. He won't be betraying the soul society as he and the Commander had a meeting earlier this morning."

"At least old man Yama listened to me," Mugetsu scowled, "Will-"

"The Kasumiōji girl will be fine, Ichigo made sure to that," Ananke said interrupting Mugetsu. "As well as your band changing your spiritual pressure it will give you advice and allow me to communicate with you once a month. The same goes for yours Beelzebub only instead of changing you spiritual pressure it'll release traces of yours and Mugetsus. This should keep them off your tail until we're ready to take down Shimi." Reaching her hand into the sack Ananke pulled out a crystal snake which had a blackness swirling around on the inside. "This," She indicated to the snake, "Is yours Bueelzebub."

"Why you didn't have to get me something so expensive," Beelzebub smirked as he almost snatched the snake off her. Within a few seconds of him grabbing it the crystal snake came to life, hissing at it did so, and wrapped its way around his arm its head positioned on top of his wrist. As its tail disappeared under his onyx metal pauldron the sound of piercing flesh could be heard. As Beelzebub flinched slightly he growled at Ananke, "Some warning would've been nice."

"Well it needs to draw energy from somewhere. Don't worry Mugetsu, it only takes ten miller-litres of your blood over two days," she added after seeing the look of shock on Mugetsus face. Drawing another snake from the bag, one that was a bass colour, Ananke held it out to Mugetsu who reluctantly accepted it.

When he did the snake did the same to him as what had been done to Beelzebub. Gasping slightly at the pain Mugetsu looked down at the snake that'd frozen back into a solid looking state.

"Doesn't this look expensive for two spirits?" He asked, looking back up at Ananke.

"Who said that they brought it?" she smiled, "The district you'll need to say you're from will be the 79th, 80th would've draw too much attention to you so the one below it fits perfectly. As for your abilities, try not to overdo it, we don't want any more attention drawn to you than needed. Also do not to let anyone touch the snake band, they don't like strangers touching them."

"Great, a god version of Urahara is what the world needs…" Mugetsu muttered.

"You say something Mugetsu?" Ananke said with her Unohana smile which made Mugetsu shiver.

"Uh..nothing," he said in an attempt to be innocent.

"Humm," she frowned before continuing, "The second band won't be as extravagant as it'll only be modifying your appearance slightly, anymore and they would find it. It also runs off blood but uses even less than the other, about 5 miller-litres over 5 days. One last thing about the bands is that I suggest you take at least one -I would advise two- of them off for an hour or so a week. They may not take much blood and they won't cause infection but it's not the physical side effects I'm talking about, you'll feel slightly drained and people will start to wonder why."

"Shall I put it on now?" Mugetsu asked as he dug around in the sack for the band.

"Go ahead kid, I want to see what she made you look like," Beelzebub grinned while Mugetsu finally found the brand, although it wasn't a band. Pulling it from the brown bag he noticed it look like a shortened version of a vambrace. It was made from black leather and it measured just less than fifteen centimetres long. It was mostly plain except for the silver lining around the edges. It wound remain in place thanks to the black leather strips which were threaded through small metal rimmed holes on the underside of it. The inside showed Mugetsu one small silver spike which seemed to grow longer when he put it on.

From the shocked look on Beelzebubs face his appearance had obviously changed, but Mugetsu hadn't felt a thing. His brief shock was soon replaced by laugher as he glanced from Mugetsu to an un-amused Ananke, "You think that's _low_ profile?"

"Well…I.." she stuttered a minor blush glowing on her cheeks.

"What?" Mugetsu demanded wanting to know what was so funny and why Ananke was blushing.

"Lady, do you have a thing for albinos or something?" Beelzebub teased as he put his arm on Mugetsu and leaned in to whisper, "Better be careful around her now Mugetsu, she might really kidnap you."

"I'm an albino?" Mugetsu groaned, he didn't want to look like his hollow.

"Yep, you got it in one and the lady over there now has the hots for you," The man chortled, stopping when Ananke glared up at after managing to compose herself.

"I don't know where you get all this nonsense from Beelzebub, maybe your fall damaged you in the brain too," She smiled sweetly, malice dripping off every word.

"What's a little fun?" Beelzebub held out his hands in surrender.

Glaring at Beelzebub Ananke materialised a snake rimmed mirror, "You should have a look first, and you'll need to get some rest soon."

She flashed the mirror in his direction and Mugetsu caught a long look at his new appearance which was just as Beelzebub said, _not_ low profile. His skin was completely white in in preparation of being a daily reminder of the bastard that lived in his soul. His hair, also white, was another reminder of the hollow. What didn't Ananke understand about low profile?

Finally, the most normal part of his appearance, the eyes. They had been changed back to their original brown colour, only they had the addition of being flecked with gold. As he stared into them they reminded him of his sisters, he hadn't even seen them since he'd come back in time. He'd wanted to but everything had been so hectic that he hadn't had the chance. If something were to happen he at least wanted to see them one more time, after all one of the reasons he wanted to reverse everything was because it was his fault they'd died.

"So what do you think? It's also removed the scars from your body just not the burns from your final Getsugatensho as that is part of the technique you're permanently in." Ananke smiled.

Twitching Mugetsu replied in an irritated voice, "Why did you make me look like my hollow? And what don't you understand about a _low_ profile?"

Beelzebub snickered silently as Ananke spoke, "I wasn't aware your hollow looked like that and I greatly understand the idea of low profile. Anyway, as I was saying before you'll need a new name and I have the perfect one. Tamotsu Sato." She turned to go but Mugetsu called out to her.

"Are Harribel and the others okay? I did leave them in the world of the living and I'm sure the soul society will arrest them for 'assisting' me."

"The soul society didn't catch them, but unfortunately they had to return to Hueco Mundo." Ananke said haughtily and resumed her walk away from them. When she was a few meters away she began to disappear, calling to them just before she did, "You've got to be at the Academy tomorrow morning so don't be late! Any Beelzebub, try not to get into any trouble during the brief time you're here."

In a ripple of gold light the goddess disappeared leaving Mugetsu and Beelzebub under a rock, in the rain. Beelzebub had he wingless back turned to him as he too stared out at the rain for a few seconds before turning around. As he walked back and slumped himself against the moss covered wall he glanced at the tired Mugetsu.

"You should get some sleep kid, I'll wake you when we should start heading over to the Academy. Fortunately that bitch landed us close to the academy so it'll only take us half an hour." He growled, "She didn't even tell us how she knew all that shit."

As if on cue the snake on Mugetsu arm lifted is head is mouth mimicking the words it hissed, _"Considering a new month begins tomorrow I shall make use of this. The reason I know all I told you is because I was captured by Shimi, as you know Mugetsu when you encountered Amy. They believed that when I was in snake form I couldn't hear what they were saying and therefore I heard everything they said. Does this satisfy you Beelzebub?"_

"Sure it does Lady, now go back to whatever it was you were doing and stop listening to other peoples conversations," He made a shooing motion with his hands that was pointless considering Ananke couldn't see him.

"_Whatever you say Bird boy,"_ The snake make a hissing laugh before it resumed its solid position on Mugetsus arm.

Beelzebub muttered something that sounded vaguely like bitch but it was cut off half way through by a surprised gasp. Looking over to him Mugetsu saw that the snake on Beelzebubs arm had bitten him. He tried to stifle a laugh hoping the fallen wouldn't notice, but that didn't work.

"Don't you start laughing Mugetsu or I might come and bite you myself, see how you feel." The angry comment only make Mugetsu laugh harder flinching in pain when as some of the wounds Ananke hadn't healed.

"Karma kid, Karma." Now it was Beelzebubs turn to laugh which in turn began a short barter between the two which ended when Mugetsu could no longer keep himself awake.

"Better make the most of your sleep, I heard that Academy can be pretty tough and that's not the only thing you've got to worry about." Beelzebub murmured to nobody, "Iris said they've put posters up with a price on your head, and mine. Probably Azraels idea," he sighed, "Tch. How I miss those bastards." He glared up at the sky that was as cold as it was empty though still inviting if you knew what lay up there, what he wouldn't give to be back home just like Mugetsu. Only Mugetsu had no chance of ever returning to his real home.

* * *

><p>Another longish chapter… a few things were explained here (I hope). Although not much happened this time, its setting up the future chapters so I hope you all forgive me ^^<p>

The next two characters today are:

**Name: **Beelzebub

**Age: **Over 10000 years

**Species: **Fallen Angel

**Pantheon:** Christian

**Powers:** Ability to 'borrow' and mimic other peoples power

**Personality:** Aggressive, Honourable, Doesn't back down

.

**Name:** Ananke

**Age:** Rather not say :P (been alive since the beginning of time, you do the math)

**Species:** Goddess (yep that is now a species)

**Pantheon:** Greek

**Powers:** Can bring things into existence (Creational powers), slight control over time (If Khronos allows it), Manipulation of snakes and

**Personality:** Sly, Motherly, Doesn't take any nonsense

So next time Mugetsu does his test to the Academy :D Yay finally! And this is the end of the new captain arc. I know it wasn't integrated as much as it probably could've been but that's how it goes.

Next time: Who Needs Education?


	31. Who Needs Education?

I would've updated sooner but I started playing dark souls again :L man I hate blight town..¬¬

A small warning before hand, I wrote quite a lot of this when I was half asleep. Probably should've just gone to bed but I wanted to finish it :P

I own none of the rights to Bleach, those go to Tite Kubo.

Just a quick reminder, when Mugetsu is in his soul I refer to him as Ichigo.

_**'Chouko'**_

'**Shiro'**

'Tensa

Who Needs Education?

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><p>Ichigo was about to fall into the blissful silence of his sleep but as fate would have it, not even his mind was allow to rest yet. The familiar sensation of being pulled into his inner world washed over him and Ichigo caught a glimpse of the sideways world that was his soul. It was only a glimpse because as soon as he felt his feet hit the floor a pair of yells resounded through the air and he felt himself being tackled by two sets of arms from behind.<p>

_**"Ichi-ni!"**_ and **"King!"** were the voices that collided into his back, sending him and them flying up the skyscraper. As they crashed into a heap Ichigo heard the distinct laughter of Tensa from in front of them.

Growling he pushed Chouko and Shiro off him yelling at them, "What the hell was that for? Jeez I come for a visit and this's the welcome I get?"

He looked up at Tensa who'd face palmed at his brash insensitivity.

"What?"

"You should be more sensitive to their feelings, I can't believe how insensitive you can be sometimes," Tensa smirked but rather than retorting Ichigo looked at the faces of his hollow and Chouko.

Chouko had her face scrunched up and looked like she was about to cry. His hollow on the other hand just looked very annoyed as a deep scowl covered his face with his mask perched on top.

"I'm sorry guys, I-" He began but the two in front cut him off.

_**"I was so worried Ichi-ni! I didn't realise he was going to do that! You could've died and it would've been all my fault,"**_ Chouko wailed as she began tearing up, leaving Ichigo to give her a small hug as Shiro vaguely hinted that he cared.

"**You better not do that again king, who else am I going to fight if you die? Scratch that if you die I die, and I don't want to die," **The albino said trying to sound uncaring. Behind him Tensa rolled his eyes, Ichigo was surprised he was keeping his cool.

"If you ever get into a situation like that -and live- ever again I will make sure you regret it. After all I only want to protect you," Tensa appeared behind him and Ichigo could hear the smile behind his words. Who knew his zanpakuto could be so threatening towards him?

"Why you-" He twitched but Shiro interrupted him.

"**You gonna tell us what happened, king?" **Shiro asked mimicking Tensas eye roll.

"I guess…" Ichigo said as he began to explain what had happened while they had been out and what he knew about Shimi. Tensa along with Shiro were both enraged when they found out that Beelzebub had been in his soul, saying it was basically a form of rape. Chouko didn't say much as she took in all the information about Shimi and tried to judge what his next move would be. When he was done they all just stared at him, trying to figure out why he was so unbelievably lucky. After all how many people managed to get a god to heal them?

"**Looks like your luck hasn't run out yet king, and apart from the minor soul rape you're all in one piece,"** The hollow grinned, they were never going to let Ichigo live that down and he'd never be able to look at Beelzebub in the same way.

"Shut up," Ichigo growled and then turn to Chouko, "You got any ideas what Shimi might do next?"

Chouko pondered this for a second before her face set into a grim expression,_** "He knew you'd escape so he would've planned out the next part of his plan, but he won't be expecting you to go to the Shinigami Academy."**_ She frowned,_ **"He'll probably let the soul society look for you for a month then if they can't find you he'll take matters into his own hands and find you himself. He'll probably use our connection, which he usually keeps shut as it means I can look into his mind as well as him looking into mine."**_ When she saw the others shocked expression at this she made a calming gesture with her hand and added, _**"Don't worry he hasn't been using it, I just can't guarantee that he won't use it anymore."**_

**"Well that just lands us in the shit, how the fuck are we supposed to hide from him?"** Shiro cursed while the others ignored him.

**"Is there any way to stop him from locating us?" **Ichigo asked knowing there would be, but not a good one from the look on Choukos face.

_**"There is but it means you will not be able to access my powers,"**_ She sighed, _**"I don't want to do it but I'll have to as it is the only way to stop Shimi gaining access to my thoughts."**_

"What do you mean?" Ichigo looked at the girl who was making an expression of sadness that didn't suit her childish features, making her look years older than she appeared.

_**"I'll be going into a 'sleep' of sorts, I will be able to hear you but I won't be able to interact with any of you. I normally wouldn't have to go to such an extent, but Shimi has powers that revolve around illusions and mind manipulation along with others, and I'd rather not name them all."** _She looked up at Ichigo, Tensa and Shiro before saying, _**"Is there anything you want to ask before I begin?"**_

"Do you know how he'll look for us if he cannot use you?" Tensa said, sadness almost reaching his eyes that she'd be leaving them for a time. He'd grown fond of her habits and she was much more entertaining than the hollow.

**_"He'll track down anyone who knows where Ichi-ni might be and make them tell him. If not that, he'll check the last place we were sighted and keep an eye on communications across worlds,"_ **She said hinting at the way Ananke would be contacting him.

"Damnit!" Ichigo cursed, everyone was a possibility but he was mostly worried about Harribel and her fraccion. They'd fled to Hueco Mundo and if they hadn't been affected by Shimis mind tricks then they would be his I first target. He had to do something! He couldn't let others take the fall for him, not this time! And using Mugetsu was the best way to ensure Shimi died, even if he had to go down too.

All three spirits around him stared at him as they knew what he wanted to do, not that they were going to let him. He wasn't ready yet and if he went to the academy they'd be able to teach him techniques as well as him learning kido.

"Ichigo we know what you're thinking and it's not a good idea. We need to find a way to beat Shimi but not at the cost of your life, Mugetsu is not a move you should be using repeatedly. It drains you both physically and mentally," Tensa frowned, as he continued to explain something that went against everything Ichigo did, "Fortunately up until now you've only used it one at a time as it has defeated your enemies in a single blow. To take down Shimi you'd have to use it twice and doing that would kill you. Your body would start to disintegrate as well as your mind, a painful experience."

"**So cheerful Tensa!"** Shiro grinned sadistically.

_**"If you've all finished with asking me questions I shall go,"**_ As Chouko spoke she began to turn into a crystallised being and steadily sank into the skyscraper they were stood on.

"Wait! Where's she going?" Ichigo demanded as he watched he sink.

"She's going to the deep recesses of your soul, she'll be harder to find in there and will not have as much contact with us. So if you need her you'll have to shout," Tensa explained as he too watched her sink.

As the line of the skyscraper reached her neck she smiled up at Ichigo, Tensa and Shiro before saying, _**"Goodbye."**_

"**Good luck brat don't let him find us,"** Shiro ginned back with a grin that didn't quite reach his eyes.

"See you soon," Tensa nodded.

"I'll find a way to deal with Shimi," Ichigo promised as Choukos head disappeared from view leaving the group of three staring at and empty spot.

"**So kingy, how about a fight?"** Ichigo sighed at the hollow and was about to agree when everything started shaking.

"What's going on?" he asked as he tried to steady himself.

"You're waking up." And sure enough as Tensa finished speaking Ichigo found himself being pulled out from his inner world, felling as tired as he was when he went in.

~/~

"Come on get your lazy ass up!" Beelzebub growled as he violently shook Mugetsu who was slowly coming back into the waking world. Mugetsu cracked open his eyes to see Beelzebub in front of him, a sight which -after what his zanpakuto had told him- wasn't good at all.

"Okay! Okay! I'm up, jeez you don't need to shake me so much," Mugetsu groaned as he pushed Beelzebub away.

"Tch, I take it your zanpakuto told you that I 'raped' your soul, or am I wrong?" he asked, growling when Mugetsu nodded slightly, "Well he's overacting because you let me in by touching my hand, a racial ability of us fallen is to possess people so no 'rape' involved."

Mugetsu scowled as he yawned and Beelzebub moved away and stood at the edge of the boulders outcropping, the brown sack in hand.

"We've got just over thirty minutes to get there," He turned around as he spoke and threw the sack at Mugetsu, "You best get changed, and do something with that black stuff and those bandages." He indicated to the swirling black hakama and the bandages as Mugetsu caught the brown bag he threw.

"Yeah, I'll ask Tensa if he can do anything with it," Mugetsu said as he pulled out the set of blue ragged clothes.

"You better kid, we don't want your cover blown on the first day," Beelzebub smirked before turning about and calling, "Make you hurry up!"

Mugetsu rolled his eyes as he asked into his mind, 'Tensa is there anything you can do about the bandages and-'

'I can get rid of the bandages but the black reiatsu is something you're continually producing, I can supress it and manipulate it so it'll say unseen _under_ your clothes. Just don't strip in front of anyone,' Tensa finished with a slight laugh as he knew Mugetsu spent most of his time getting cut up and therefore so did his clothes.

'Why you!' Mugetsu twitched but realised he only had a few seconds to get ready. Moaning about his zanpakuto Mugetsu quickly pulled on the ragged blue clothes and threw the now empty bag back at Beelzebub. Said fallen anticipated the action and turned back around to catch the bag another smirk crawling onto his face.

"You ready then?" he asked and noting Mugetsus now rugged appearance he said, "Let's go then Mr Albino." And broke into a flash-step.

"HEY!" Mugetsu yelled as he flash-stepped after Beelzebub, "Come back here you bastard!"

After 5 minutes Mugetsus yelling and Beelzebubs laughing ceased, as they didn't want to gain any attention of onlookers. They kept to the forests during their journey to the academy, only flashing though the main streets of the towns when they needed to. And even then they made sure nobody saw them nor were there any soul reapers around. Whenever they did have to go through a town they caught the occasional glance of a wanted poster which had pictures of them and offered a reward for anyone who could catch them, dead or alive.

Within 20 minutes they'd made it to the Academy, or as close as Beelzebub wanted to get –which was just outside the gate. Through the greenery of the trees Mugetsu could see the distinct white colour of the Academy, complete with its traditional yellowy-brown roofs. Outside the gates mingled many potential students who Mugetsu could tell came from a variety of different backgrounds.

Most wore similar clothes to him and all seemed to know each other as they chatted away waiting to be called in for their test. On the other hand there was a group of people who swarmed around each other talking to each other while some cast glances of disdain at the others around them. Mugetsu scowled slightly, looks like he'd have to deal with mini Byakuyas.

"This is goodbye kid, I'll come visit you in two weeks so keep your head down, okay?" Beelzebub smirked.

"Che, I should be saying that to you," Mugetsu said, "I never asked you how you were able to meet me yesterday, I thought Anubis and Grim were looking for you."

"Shimi had imprisoned me before then and had one of his lackeys take my place, after placing an illusion on them," Beelzebub said. "Of course I escaped," he added like it was obvious.

Mugetsu began to walk to the edge of the forest as he called over to Beelzebub, "Good luck and don't let them catch you, I'll see you in two weeks Bird boy."

"You betcha will brat, I don't go down easily," Beelzebub grinned before he turned and disappeared into the shadows of the forest.

With a slight smile curving onto his lips Mugetsu walked out onto the clean white road and made his way across the short distance to the Academy gate. As he got closer people started to turn in his direction, espically the nobles. Most of them first eyed up his striking looks before staring at the bands on each of his arms. He inwardly groaned wishing Ananke had given him a top with long sleeves. As he got closer to the entrance Mugetsu wondered where he was supposed to go until someone noticed this and called over to him.

"You lost?" called a familiar girly voice. Hoping it wasn't who he thought it was Mugetsu turned around only to have his hopes smashed when he locked eyes with Hitomi.

'Do you think they'll know it's me?'

'It wouldn't be a disguise if someone could see through it,' was the blunt answer from his zanpakuto.

"I guess so, it's my first time applying," he replied as she was joined by her other friends.

"Really? I would've thought you'd apply earlier considering you spiritual pressure," She said tilting her head slightly.

"Uh, well I live all the way over in 79th so it takes ages to get down here," He lied nonchalantly.

"You're from 79th," Her friend -Arata was it?- chipped in, "I heard that's one of the worst places to live, but not as bad as the 80th."

"Yeah, I got tired of the constant fights for my life and I heard there was an exam today so I made my way over," he shrugged.

"Is that how you got those bands? From fights?" her other male friend –Katsu?- asked pointing at the bands.

"A family I used to live gave them to me," he said as he tried to feign sadness.

Completely falling for it Hitmoi asked, "How did they die? Was it a hollow?"

"Hitomi you shouldn't ask stuff like that," Came the nervous voice of the one who healed him, Skizuko.

"It's okay, it happened a long time ago but yeah they were killed by hollows. That's why I want to be a soul reaper, so I can protect the people I care about," he said we determination.

"That reminds me, the sign up post is over there," Hitomi pointed to a man dressing in soul reaper uniform who was sat at a table, "You should go sign up now, they close it in a few minutes."

"Thanks," Mugetsu said before he quickly ran over to the soul reaper who stared at him as he approached.

"Do you want to sign up?" he asked.

"Yes."

"Name?" the soul reaper asked.

"Tamotsu Sato," Mugetsu replied as he recalled the name Ananke had given him.

"Okay, you're lucky Tamotsu any later and you would've missed the deadline," He sighed as he wrote down Mugetsus alias, "Names will be called in alphabetical order of surname, good luck."

Before Mugetsu could say anything else the soul reaper gathered up the papers on the desk and retreated inside the Academy. Deciding it was best to wait it out alone Mugetsu sat down against the wall.

~/~

As the group around him reached half Mugetsu waited eagerly for his name to be called by the soul reaper who stood at the entrance. Surely it was his turn by now?

As the reaper walked out and cleared his voice Mugetsu listened intently, "Tamotsu Sato!"

Grinning he got up and walked over to the soul reaper who led him through the gates and to an outside table where four people sat. Around the courtyard there was more than one table, at least 10 tables lined the huge courtyard as people showed their skills off to those watching. At his table sat two women and two men who all stared at him as he stopped in front of them.

He bowed, "Tamotsu Sato."

"Hello Tamotsu," greeted the woman with short black hair, "I'm Aika a teacher for Hoho. This" she indicated to an old man with very short black, "is Eiji, Zanjutsu. Mi," she indicated to the other womam how was also young and had long purple hair, "teaches Kido. And Ryo," she indicated to the young man with short styled brown hair, "who teaches Hakuda, we'll all be assessing your abilities today."

"First off, why do you want to be a soul reaper?" Eiji asked.

"I want to become stronger so I can protect people from hollows because someone I cared about was killed by a hollow a few years ago," he replied.

"How much do you know about hollows?" Mi asked this time while the others wrote down notes on what he just said.

"Not much, I know that they can get really powerful but the highest class I know is Gillian because I've see one before," After he said it the all began murmuring about an incident that had occurred a few years ago.

Ryo began to get up and walked over to Mugetsu, "We'll do the practical part now, I'll throw some punches among other techniques and I want you to block, counter or dodge, just do whatever comes naturally."

Mugetsu nodded as he got into a starting position and so did Ryo. Ryo was first to start as he threw in a few slow punches at Mugetsu, who blocked them all with ease and countered the last one by punching him in the stomach. The force of the punch sent Ryo backwards a few steps and a small smile pulled onto the teachers face. When he came back in for an attack his speed had picked up and the combinations became more elaborate than before. As the attacks were thrown at him Mugetsu made it look like he was struggling but he still managed to block the moves and throw in a few punches and kicks himself. Although one kick was a mistake. Ryo grabbed Mugetsus left leg as he swung it in and acting on instinct Mugetsu reached forwards and placed his forearms on either side of Ryos neck before forcing his captured leg to the ground. The movement that only took seconds ended up with Ryo on the floor staring up at Mugetsu –who was currently annoyed with himself for not going down– with wide eyes that were also filled with delight.

"No arguments there, you'll be in the top class for Haduka," Ryo said as Mugetsu helped him up and he returned to his seat.

"Where did you learn that?" Eiji queried.

"I think I used to be good at karate when I was alive so I remember a few things sometimes," Mugetsu answered and they all wrote down a few more notes.

"Next we'll test your Kido," Mi said as she got out of her seat and walked over to Mugetsu and aimed her hands at a long wooden target before saying, "You'll be doing one hado and one bakudo. This is the hado you'll be doing. Hado#4: Byakurai!" As she said it a blue ball of reiatsu fired from her palms and hit the target straight on.

"Now you try, just repeat what I said and push your spiritual energy into the palms of your hands."

Mugetsu drew his reiatsu to his hands and fired it at the target after saying, "Hado#4: Byakurai!" Instead of the ball being blue like Mi's was his was the usual black colour of his natural reiatsu. When it made contact with the target it exploded almost completely destroying the target.

"Nice try, now let's see your bakuto. Try not to put too much reiatsu into the spell," she said as she resumed her previous position, "Bakudo#4: Hainawa!" This time a bright yellow rope fired from her outstretched from her hands and wrapped itself around the target.

Mugetsu did the same as he did before and said, "Bakudo#4: Hainawa!" when he thought there was enough reiatsu in the spell. He almost got the same result as Mi, but his black tinted rope wrapped itself around the target before completely crushing it due to too much power.

"Well done, you'll defiantly be in the top class. The only thing you need to work on is your power control," she said to him before returning to her seat to write notes like the other.

The next person to get up was Eiji who brought with him two wooden swords and without a word threw one to Mugetsu as he took up a starting position.

"Next is your Zanjutsu test, good luck."

At first Eiji began like Ryo did, slow. But when he realised that he couldn't hit Mugetsu with slow attacks he picked up the pace and just like before Mugetsu pretended to be struggling. The blows came faster and Mugetsu resisted the urge to use a flash-step. Deciding it he needed to loose soon Mugetsu brought up a block which he allowed to be swept away. With him basically disarmed Eiji jabbed his sword forwards and lightly touched Mugetsu on the chest, a sweat beaded on his forehead.

After here returned his sword the Zanjutsu teacher went back to his seat to make notes. When done with making notes the hoho teacher, Aika got up and walked round the table and to him.

"I'll demonstrate a short flash-step and I would like you to repeat it to me after," she said, "When you've done that we'll have a small game of tag where I will try to get this," she showed him a rather large circular sticker, "on your back."

Mugetsu watched as she demonstrated a flash-step to him which he then proceeded to copy, trying to make it look like it was his first time in the process. Satisfied he could perform a flash-step Aika began their game of tag. During the game Mugetsu made it appear he was only just able to get away from Aika and after a few minutes he let her tag him.

"Well done, that was one of the best flash-steps I've see today," she smiled. "And you picked it up so quickly!"

"The people I used to live with said I learnt things quickly, I guess it's a trait of mine," he replied with an expression that was almost a smile.

"That's a good trait to have," Aika returned to her seat and wrote a few noted before she and the others made a quick exchange.

"Congratulations!" she announced as she picked up a folded piece of paper and got back up to give it to him. "You've made it into the Shinigami Academy! Give this sheet to one of the teachers at the door and they'll give you a time table and your room number."

Taking the piece of paper Mugetsu thanked the teachers and then made his way over to the large open doorway where a few teachers stood along with a few entrants. He walked up to the nearest one whom he gave the folded slip to and after giving it a quick scan they searched though their pile. Pulling out a timetable which they handed to him they also gave pointed him in the direction of his room which was on the east wing and number 115.

As he walked through the hallways to the east wing people stared at him, not that Mugetsu noticed as he was too busy looking at his timetable and trying not to get lost.

His timetable read:

8:00-9:15 Breakfast

9:30 Modern History and Law

10:35 1-Hoho – T

11:40 1-Hoho – P

Lunch – 30 minutes

12:10 1-Kido – T

01:15 1-Kido – P

02:20 1-Zanjutsu – T

02:25 1-Zanjutsu – P

Break – 15 minutes

02:40 1-Hakuda – T

03:45 1-Hakuda – P

Day ends at 04:45, lights out at 10:30

Mugetsu inwardly groaned, his day was almost as bad as the one at Karakura high. This was going to be a long few months.

* * *

><p>So we're finally at the Academy :D I know everything I've described about the academy isn't accurate but oo well and I would've put incantation with the kido but I couldn't find them :

Hope you all enjoyed that chapter anyway

Btw, Tamotsu means something along the lines of protect.

Today's OC's are:

**Name:**Grim

**Age:**Over 200000 years

**Species:**Grim Reaper

**Pantheon:** American?

**Powers:** Can manipulate peoples powers, rendering them useless

**Personality:** Loyal, wise, mysterious, fair, has a dark side

.

**Name:** Anubis

**Age:** Over 100000 years

**Species:** God

**Pantheon:** Egyptian

**Powers:** Call things from the depths of the underworld

**Personality:** easily angered, naive, can be brash, insecure

Next time: The Start Of Something New


	32. The Start Of Something New

I guess you should all expect updates to start slowing down, I'll try update each week but exams are coming up soon ¬¬ I'll make up for it afterwards :D

I own none of the rights to Bleach, those go to Tite Kubo.

The Start Of Something New

* * *

><p>Mugetsu folded up his timetable as he continued in the vague direction of the east block.<p>

He'd only been walking for about ten minutes but had somehow managed to get himself lost. In front of him was a single door with a corridor on either side, both of which seemed to stretch on forever. A few students in their red and blue uniforms lined the area, most in deep conversation while others cast him curious glances. Growing frustrated Mugetsu was about to pick a random direction to travel in when someone's hand tapped his shoulder.

He turned around as the persons low refined voice asked, "Are you lost?"

The person who'd spoken was a boy who appeared to be a year or two older than Mugetsu. The first thing Mugetsu noticed however was how he bore a striking resemblance to Byakyua. What with the two kenseikan what were placed on the right side of his head and the long black hair that reached just above his shoulders. Bangs hung on the left side of his face arcing around his bright green eyes which also seemed familiar. In his hand he held a pile of leaflets which Mugetsu could just make out to be for first years.

Grinning in his usual fashion Mugetsu ran his hands over the back of his head, "Yeah, I guess I am."

The boy sighed, clearly he wasn't the only one who'd gotten lost today, "This is the 20th time today, it's chaos. What're they telling you?"

"I was just given my timetable, a room number and pointed in this direction," Mugetsu shrugged thinking this guy couldn't be related to Byakuya.

This time the boy groaned, almost sagging in defeat, "I'm sorry about this. Today is very chaotic, the Academy is two weeks late in opening because of the murders and they are trying to do too much at once." When he caught Mugetsu blank face he added, "How rude of me, I'm Kouki Kuchiki the 6th year representative."

"I thought he looked similar," Mugetsu murmured without thinking.

"Excuse me?"

"Uh…nothing, I'm Tamotsu Sato," He said, changing the subject.

"If you would follow me Tamotsu I shall show you where you room is and tell you all you need to know," Kouki gestured for Mugetsu to walk back in the direction he'd come from. Mugetsu began walking and Kouki fell into step next to him before he began chatting away, "Given what little you've been told I shall start from the beginning. Your clothes, paper and writing equipment will all be provided to you and can be found in your room. Classrooms will have your text books so they won't be in your room. As it says on your timetable, classes start at 9:30, and each type is split into two types which are Theory and Practical." Taking a leaflet off the top of his pile Kouki handed it to Mugetsu, "Inside that is a map of the school along with what rooms each class is in. There're also a few other points indicating the rules, regulations and punishments."

They rounded a corner which Mugetsu hadn't noticed on his trek down the corridor before and proceeded to walk the short distance to the end of it. The corridor split into two directions again but Mugetsu noticed that they were already at the dorm hall as many people dressed similarly to him milled about the place as they chatted to their friends before entering their rooms. Many of them began staring at Kouki with wide eyes as soon as they noticed the kenseikan. Said noble ignored the stares as he took Mugetsu to the right and they headed for a set of stairs.

"There are four floors to the dorms, the first and second are reserved for the girls and the top two for the boys. The girls are not allowed on the boys floors, and the boys are not allowed to linger on the girls floors," Kouki explained. "The halls are monitored regularly so there's no sneaking around it. So I advise you don't try sneaking into the girls dorms," He gave Mugetsu a slight knowing smile.

"What? I'm not like that!" Mugetsu protested, almost turning red with embarrassment.

"Of course," Rouki grinned, "I may be a noble but I know what we guys are like, some of the time." He indicated to the set of spiral stairs they'd reached, "Shall we continue?"

Mugetsu nodded and they made their way up two flights of the spiral staircase. They passed more people on the way up who quickly hurried out of the way when they saw Kouki. Annoyance had flashed in the nobles eyes at this but he continued to ignore them, even the whispers that started picking up when they'd reached Mugetsus floor.

Another corridor stretched out in front of Mugetsu and on each side there were 25 rooms creating 50 in total on each floor.

"The number of take-ins this year is lower than normal, so if you're lucky you might get your own room," Kouki commented as they walked the short distance to room 115.

"You're not how I expected a noble to be," Mugetsu commented while opening his door and walked inside, observing the small room as he did so. On each side of the room were a single bed -already made- and a tall oak chest-a-draws. At the back of the room were two desks placed in front of a large window, both with a collection of paper and a writing set.

Kouki make a noise that sounded like a snort, "I'm already a disgrace to the Kuchiki family because of my father. So long as I don't disgrace the clan the elders couldn't care less what happens to me."

"What did your father do?" Mugetsu asked shutting the door behind Kouki as he walked in.

The noble didn't respond for a while as he debated whether or not he should tell Mugetsu who his father was. After all he was bound to learn about it sooner or later, but the Kuchikis preferred information kept secret.

Determination set in his eyes as he decided, what did he care what the elders thought? They'd already condemned him to becoming like his father.

"My father was known as the former 3rd seat of the 6th division over 100 years ago, Koga Kouchiki. He apparently betrayed the soul society by first killing a group of soldiers and then went on to kill three officials, after which he continued his killing spree. I wasn't very old around that time but I still remember what happened." Kouki slumped down on the bed, his elbows on his knees with his head resting on his hands, "I don't know why I'm telling you all this, I'm supposed to be a cool, calm and composed Kuchiki.."

"What like Byakuya-" Mugetsu blurted without thinking, stopping himself before be said anymore.

"You know my cousin Byakuya?" Kouki raised an eyebrow as he looked up at Mugetsu.

"N-no way. I just heard about him that's all," Mugetsu denied with a slight chuckle.

Frowning Kouki let it pass, "My mother is the only one who thinks I'll bring pride to him, somehow. She misses him, ever since the day he was sealed away she hasn't been the same and it pains me to have seen her like that for the past 100 years."

"I know how she feels," Mugetsu said thinking of his mother, "When someone I cared for died I was so full of emotion I didn't want to burden anyone else with it, but that only ended up with me hurting those around me. I was-" Mugetsu cut himself off, he was digressing from the point he wanted to make, "Maybe if you take her to where his sealed it will ease her pain."

"A family you lived with in the rukongai?"

Realising who he was supposed to be Mugetsu agreed, "Uh…Yeah, they gave me these the day before they died," he gestured to the bands he was wearing.

"Really? They must've cost a fortune," He looked like he was about to say more about it but Mugetsu shifted, feigning distress. To change the subject Kouki indicated to his kenseikan, "These were my fathers, mother gave them to me as a present instead of me having my own. I suppose it's her way of moving on." Just as he finished a bell ran throughout the school causing both Mugetsu and Kouki to jump.

"That's the bell for assembly!" He looked at Mugetsu who was still in his ragged clothing, "You need to get changed, quickly!"

Pulling open one of the chests draws Mugetsu pulled out a blue academy uniform and got changed in record time. The reason it had been a record time was because Mugetsu hadn't taken his blue rags off, and had instead slipped his uniform over them. Kouki cast Mugetsu a curious glance at this but the faux albino merely shrugged.

Kouki got up and opened the door to leave the room, Mugetsu followed behind quickly slipping on a pair of sandals as he did. The corridor was empty as the left his room which both Mugetsu and Kouki were thankful for. They couldn't stand the whispers that followed them around the corridors, some whispered about Kouki being a noble while others murmured about Mugetsus unusual appearance. But that wasn't a problem in the quite deserted hallways.

The two continued talking to each other as they made their way to the assembly hall. Occasionally Kouki would tease Mugetsu about his hair which caused Mugetsu in turn to make impressions of a snobbish noble. Their laughs could be heard all over school and only began to quieten when they'd reached the hall in the central block of the academy. They were still snickering at each other when they said their goodbyes.

"I guess I'll see you around Kouki," Mugetsu grinned, still finding it strange how Kouki was so different to Byakuya.

"You'll defiantly see me around Tamotsu," Kouki smirked back, "You're the only person who isn't interested with my status as nobility."

Mugetsu and Kouki pushed the double doors open in unison as Mugetsu began, "You-"

He was cut off by a familar booming voice as heads turned to face them, "Why're you two late? I would've expected more of you Kuchiki."

"I was-" Mugetsu cut Kouki off.

"It was my fault, Kouki was showing me around and explaining everything to me," Mugetsu called back to the voice believing it was best if Kouki wasn't seen as an irresponsible person. He'd already been condemned enough.

"Humm, I'll let it slide this time because you're a first year. Well done Kuchiki for directing the first year," The voice replied, becoming more familiar by the second. With a quick glance at Kouki Mugetsu and he walked in their separate directions and joined their years, Mugetsu at the front and Kouki at the back. As he walked to the front Mugetsu looked up at the person who had been talking and realised that it was a very stern, very angry looking Ukitake. The expression didn't suit the normally kind and compassionate white haired captain. When he'd taken his place kneeling at the end of a line Ukitake continued the speech.

"As I was saying before, lateness will not be tolerated as will offensive behaviour towards each other. You will all be serving the 13 court guard squads one day and should learn to respect those around you," Ukitake paused to let his words sink in. "Sundays will be your days off as well as half of Saturdays. On Saturdays you shall all take extra classes, signing up forms will be placed in the canteen and all classes as usual will be mixed year. The classes available this year shall be; healing, extra zanjutsu, extra kido, zanpakuto meditation, reiatsu control, extra history, haiku and scenario training. Due to the unfortunate death of Aize Souske there will be no calligraphy this year. Zanjutsu and kido will be based in their double areas while the rest will be split."

To the side of the slightly raised wooden platform there was some movement. A few people inhaled a gasp as a boy who looked similar to Anubis walked on stage. He wore a plain clay coloured sarong that was rimed with gold which was accompanied by a short sword. A thick jewelled necklace hung around his neck, glowing softly against his olive skin. Golden eyes radiated discomfort and annoyance and were framed by long layered black hair that was lined with hawk feathers.

"This is Kabexnuf, he will be a foreign student for a few months due to the current situation. Kabexnuf is here to learn about the ways of the soul society as he is in training for a position of the international royal guard," Ukitake explained and indicated to Kabexnuf to say something but the Egyptian merely nodded, causing a few girls to swoon. Said Egyptian began staring intently at Mugetsu, as if he could see right through his disguise.

"You can go sit down now Kabexnuf," Ukitake said as he gestured next to Mugetsu and Kabexnuf walked over and knelt next to him. Mugetsu tried not to shift uncomfortably as Ukitake continued his speech, "Treat Kabexnuf as you would any other student and make sure to make him feel welcome. If there is anything else you need to know ask either one of your teachers or a senior as I'm sure they'll be able to help you no matter what it is. So welcome first years and 6th years good luck in your final year. Dismissed!" With that said Ukitake left the room using a door to the right while everyone else split off to find their friends while others milled around Kabexnuf, who looked really uncomfortable at this. Sighing, Mugetsu debated whether or not he should help the future royal guard out.

His morals winning Mugetsu walked over to where Kabexnuf was surrounded and began to push his way through to the front. A few people protested but were silenced when Mugetsu glanced at them sending them an unintentional glare.

When he got to the front he whispered to Kabexnuf, "Don't worry I'm here to help you out." The Egyptian sent him a thankful smile before Mugetsu yelled at the crowd, "OI! What do you guys think you're doing? He's not a picture to gawk at and he's not a doll to poke and prod! Weren't you all listening to Uki- the headmaster?"

Most of the people in the crowd looked ashamed, they were only curious. This was the first time anyone outside of the Japanese pantheon had been at the Academy.

"Who're you to tell us what to do? You just want him all to yourself!" A person in the crowd accused.

Mugetsu twitched, "What was that? I'm only helping him because I was in his position once."

Not wanting to hear another word Mugetsu grabbed Kabexnuf and pulled him through the crowd and out of the room. Mugetsu let go of Kabexnuf when they'd exited the room and signalled from him to follow him. The Egyptian complied and followed Mugetsu as he sprinted off in the direction which he hoped was towards the dorms.

* * *

><p>I finally managed to get this chapter done, I hope it's not too bad and I guess not much happened but it'll all kick off next time what with a royal guard trainee being around and a Kuchiki :P<p>

This week's OC's are:

**Name: **Hades

**Age: **100000 years younger than Ananke

**Species: **God

**Pantheon:** Greek

**Powers:** Control of fire, Summon Cerbreus, Travel via underworld portal which can also be used to drag people to hell if they're guilty

**Personality:** Aggressive, Brash, Protective of his pantheon, Bitter

.

**Name:** Kabexnuf

**Age:** Over 100000 years (younger than Anubis)

**Species:** God

**Pantheon:** Egyptian (Anubis's half-brother)

**Powers:** Shield abilities, Sword can turn into a long whip-like rope, Can reach into an opponent's body and pull out their intestines (Must chant words first)

**Personality:** Protective, Critical, Perceptive

Thanks for reading :) don't forget to review

Next time: Class's In Session


	33. Hanging Around

I'd changed the name of this chapter –not that it matters- to something else seeing how the original title had no reference to what was going to happen :L

Hope you all enjoy, I'm not sure if I'll update before the end of May so the next chapter will be a while...

I own none of the rights to Bleach, those go to Tite Kubo.

'**Shiro'**

'Tensa

Hanging Around

* * *

><p>Mugetsu knew he didn't have the worst sense of direction, -that right was reserved for Kenpachi- but the Academy building seemed to enhance the chances of getting lost. Especially for Mugetsu. With his new companion in tow, he and Kabexnuf had managed to run outside the backside of the Academy. Glancing behind them to make sure they hadn't been followed by any crazy fans, Mugetsu noticed said fans.<p>

"Ah, shit," Mugetsu cursed as he looked around for somewhere for them to hide earned a strange look from Kabexnuf. Within a few seconds Mugetsu spotted a tall tree that was completely covered in a thick layer of leaves, a perfect place to hide assuming they could get up it.

Quickly turning to Kabexnuf he asked with a slight smirk, "How're you when it comes to heights?"

The Egyptian looked over to the tree and answered with a slight smirk of his own, "I'm more than capable to climb a tree."

"I'll race you to the top then," Mugetsu said before the duo raced each other to the base of the tree and began a speedy ascension up its trunk. As they did so Mugetsu was careful not to do it with any form of agility that would be above the level of a first year. With Kabexnuf around he'd have to be much careful with what he revealed to others concerning his skill. During the climb up the tree Mugetsu ensured that he was slower than Kabexnuf which of course meant that Kabexnuf made it virtually to the top first.

"You're good for a first year," Kabexnuf said as he sat on a thick branch adjacent to Mugetsu, his feet dangling at least 9 feet off the ground.

"Yeah I had good practice in the 79th," Mugetsu grinned as if it brought back some form of a good memory. He and Kabexnuf both cast their eyes down to the base of the tree when they heard whispering from below.

"I wonder where they both went."

"They can't have gotten far."

"The white ones so hot…"

"I prefer the new guy, he's so…exotic."

The voices began to fade away as the girls had passed the tree and continued on their search for him and Kabexnuf. It looked like the others had given up, which they were both thankful for. But as they were about to relax a voice from above them cause them to jump.

"What brings you two up here?"

While Kabexnuf managed to only flinch slightly, Mugetsu lost his balance and would've fallen out of the tree had he not caught the branch he'd just been sitting on.

"My apologies Tamotsu I thought you knew I was up here," the voice chuckled becoming more familiar by the second. "Here let me give you a hand," he said as a pair of hands grabbed Mugetsu and pulled him up with incredible strength. When he was back on his branch a few noises could be heard as the person above him placed himself back on his branch. Mugetsu looked up as this occurred only to see a familiar black haired noble pulling up his top half with his knees as the only anchor to the branch. Kouki finished heaving himself up and then proceeded to turn around before speaking to Mugetsu again.

"Sorry about that, I thought you could sense my spiritual pressure," The Kuchiki grinned as he apologised again.

"Heh, I've always been bad at that kind of thing," Mugetsu laughed before scowling as his inability to sense others spiritual pressure without the help of his spirits.

"Always been bad?" Kabexnuf chipped in regaining Koukis attention.

'**How stupid can you get king?'**

'Shut up, it was a simple mistake!'

'**You won't be saying that when they fuckin' capture you.'**

'Saying that's no-'

'He's right Ichigo, the reason Kabexnuf is probably here to find you,' Tensa interrupted, 'You need to be careful around him.'

'Fine,' Mugetsu reluctantly agreed as his split second conversation was brought to an end.

"So you're the international student? I take it that's why you two are up here?" Kouki asked, unintentionally saving Mugetsu from making up an excuse.

"Yeah he was being surrounded by a whole group of people," Mugetsu sighed.

The corner of Koukis mouth curved up into a half simle, "Ah yes, the 'fans'. I shouldn't worry, the hype about Kabexnuf will die down in a day or two, hopefully. They're curious just like everyone else is, only they're more open about it."

"I realise how strange I must seem, but I'd rather they ask me questions in a calmer fashion," Mugetsu noticed Kabexnufs face pull into a slight frown as he spoke.

"I guess you're right. Although passion like that can be channelled and used to develop future abilities, and maybe if you answer some of their questions people will strive to be like you. Don't you agree?" Kouki mused.

Kabexnuf merely 'hummed' in response as Mugetsu watched him put his back up against the trunk of the tree, apparently going to sleep. Frowning at the Egyptians lack of faith in those around him Mugetsu also put his back up against the tree.

"He's seems lost," Kouki partially chuckled.

"Lost?" Mugetsu asked unsure of what way Kouki was referring to. Lost in mind or lost in the way of the world?

"The lack of faith he has for everyone, can't you tell by the way he talks and his expression?" Kouki said off headedly, "I would've thought you could. You have a similar look in your eyes, the look of someone who's not sure where they're going or has lost many."

"I guess it's been like that since I lost the ones I cared for," Mugetsu said truthfully, since coming back through time he'd tried not to think about what'd happened in the future. He'd only have nightmares if he did. Too much was depending on him, he needed to be able to protect his friends that still lived without his past hindering him. He'd have his time to morn when this was over.

"The family you used to live with?"

"Yeah."

There was a slight pause before Kouki spoke again, "I sure you did what you could to protect them, after all you're not a proper soul reaper yet and hollows can be difficult at the best of times. Especially if there are many of them."

"I could've done more, even if it meant risking my life."

"Self-sacrifice is never the answer, it only brings pain to the people who you're trying to protect."

"That's the reason why I decided to become a soul reaper! So I could become stronger and protect those who are unable to protect themselves," Mugetsu said in a determined manner.

"That's the way you should be thinking, always look forward and never look back." When Kouki stopped speaking shuffling could be heard and the next thing he knew Kouki had dropped onto his branch, landing right next to him. A smile was on his face as he spoke again, "If you ever need help training Tamotsu, I'll be happy to give you a hand."

"R-Really?" Mugetsu choked, was this guy really related to Byakuya?

"Of course, I never go back on my word. You can come to the manor and maybe cousin Byakuya will give us a few tips on shunpo!" The Kuchiki grinned as Mugetsu inwardly groaned, lessons from Byakuya on shunpo? He was faster than him!

'**Ahahaha, have fun being taught by Byakuya king!' **Shiro cackled from the mindscape.

'Didn't I tell you to shut up already?'

**Since when have I listened to you kingy?'**

'Since I beat your ass more than once.'

'**You wanna put that to the test?'** Mugetsu could feel the maniacal grin that was crawling onto the hollows face.

'So I can beat you again? Just remember you asked for it!' Mugetsu decided impulsively

'**I'll beat that delusion out of you kingy.'**

'Does my wielder have no sense of self-preservation?'

'Hey! What's that supposed to mean Tensa?'

'You're supposed to be keeping a low profile and you want to battle your hollow? No one will notice that will they?' Tensa replied dryly.

"Uhh, Tamotsu?" Kouki brought Mugetsu out of his inner argument.

"Yeah?" Mugetsu blinked to refocus his eyes on Kouki.

"You were spacing out," he stated before prompting Mugetsu for an answer, "Do you want to come to the manor then? It would be on Sundays."

"Sure, this Sunday?"

Kouki nodded "Yes, I'll send a currier to tell grandfather we'll be going there." Kouki paused for a second as his face took on an expression the implied he'd remembered something, "That reminds me, what extra classes are you planning to take?"

'You should take kido Ichigo, you never know when it could be usefull.'

'**And healing king, you'll need it considering the amount of times you get beat up.'**

'Bastard, I'm going to make you wish you didn't say that.'

'**Bring it kingy, how about Saturday after lessons?' **

'You're on!'

"Defiantly Kido," Mugetsu twitched slightly, "Healing and zanpakuto meditation will be useful too. What're you going to take?"

"Quite a mix you've got there." Kouki thought for a second, "I'll probably end up taking the same as last year. So it's zanpakuto meditation, kido and zanjutsu for another year," Kouki sighed. "I wish they gave us more variety on these extra classes."

"They don't change them each year?"

"Not really, the only change this year has been that there's no calligraphy. And even that's only because the captain running it died, I wonder how it happened." Kouki mused, "I heard that a stranger appeared cloaked in black and killed him in one hit. Strange how that persons the one who's been killing all the nobles."

"It-" Mugetsu cut himself off, he needed to be more careful as he'd almost blown his cover and revealed that he was the person they were all looking for. He only hoped Kabexnuf was truly asleep.

Kouki raised an eyebrow at him, "Tamotsu?"

"Ehhh…I don't believe this guy killed all these nobles."

"Why?"

"This person killed A-that captain, don't you think he did it for a reason? And why would he go round killing a bunch of nobles?"

"Maybe the stranger is killing the nobles to create disarray everywhere and the captain knew all about it so he killed him?"

"But he was going to betray the soul society!" Mugetsu burst out. Didn't Kouki know what Aizen had been planning to do? From the look on the nobles face Mugetsu could instantly tell that he didn't. The soul society must've kept it a secret from everyone, not wanting people to think they were weak enough to have traitors in their midst.

"What makes you say that?"

"Just some rumours I heard on my way down here," Mugetsu lied before changing the subject, "So why're you up here?"

"Nice way to change the subject Tamotsu," Kouki grinned. "I up here because I normally meet my friends here, well they wait at the bottom of the tree while I wait up here." He paused, "They should be here by now."

As if on cue a group of at least four people appeared at the bottom of the tree as they casually talked to each other. A few of them glanced up and began waving when they spotted Kouki.

"Hey Kouki!" A girl with black hair called as she waved, "Sorry we're late!"

"Yeah Amaya was too busy looking for the new kid…the one sat right next to you…" Another girl said, and Mugetsu cast his now scowling eyes in her direction. The first thing he saw was the hair. The hair which looked so familiar he felt the urge to call her out as someone who'd been killed because of him. His mother. At first glance she looked like his mother, but that was only if you took a _very _quick look. It was only the hair which did it, the wavy brown hair which only fell to just above the girls shoulders looked just like his mothers.

Clenching his fist Mugetsu realised he had something he needed to do. And that was to kill the Grand-Fisher. As Kouki exchanged conversation with his friends -of which the two guys had joined in- Mugetsu only thought about how he would find the Grand-Fisher.

'Don't do anything rash Ichigo! We will kill him one day. Don't let a small similarity make you lose your grip on everything we're working towards!'

'But he killed her Tensa! And the one change I got, I blew it! He-'

'Ichigo! Listen to me, it was not your fault! He tricked you by using that which you love against you. Not even the strongest warrior would be able to attack the person they love, and that is what makes you strong. Your determination to protect the people you love. We will avenge her, but only when the time is right."

"..otsu?" Kouki pulled Mugetsu out of his inner conversation, "Tamotsu?"

"Yeah?"

"That's the second time today, why do you keep zoning out?" Mugetsu shrugged causing Kouki to sigh, "Never mind, I-"

"Sorry Kouki, I've got something I need to do," Mugetsu said cutting Kouki off. Lowing himself down Mugetsu dropped his legs off the branch as he held onto it before swinging down, angling himself so that he didn't hit any other branches on the way down.

"See you later Kouki," he waved up at the noble before glancing at Kabexnuf. "Bye Kabexnuf!" He called hoping the Egyptain heard him. And without another word Mugetsu sped off to where he guessed his dorm room was.

~/~

Mugetsu managed to make it to his dorm room with little problem. A few people gave him curious glances and whispers also echoed behind him, not that Mugetsu paid them any attention. He'd been used to it all his life and had learnt to tune it out.

Currently Mugetsu lay on his bed with Tensa and Shiro sat on the other one. Both spirits were quiet as they cast worried glances in Mugetsus direction, until Shiro started talking.

"**So kingy, what's the venue going to be for your defeat?"**

Mugetsus scowl lifted slightly, "You mean your defeat." There was a slight pause as Mugetsu thought, "We'll have it where we normally do-"

"**In your fucked up inner world? But it's so boring in there, I should know. I live there with this loser for company," **Shiro whined as he indicated to Tensa. Said zanpakuto didn't look happy with this comment and before Shiro knew what was happening he'd already been smacked over the head –twice- with his own mask.

"**OW!"** The albino groaned rubbing his head, **"What was that for Tensa?"**

"Need I answer that?" Tensa asked, scowling at the hollow.

"**But it's true!"** The hollow's grin began to fade when he saw the irritated look on Tensas face. Scooting away Shiro kept a hold of his mask and jumped up when he reached the opposite end, Tensa merely followed.

"**Tensa, think about this. Someone might see!"** Shiro reasoned.

"We're the only people in the room, idiot." Tensa continued stalking towards the hollow as he backed away. The hollow looked towards his king for help but his temporary double was too busy trying to hold back laughter.

"**I'll remember this king,"** Shiro scowled only causing Mugetsu to laugh even more. When Tensa reached him he grabbed the albino and pulled him into a headlock before giving him a nuggie, causing Shiro to drop his mask in the process. It landed on the floor with a clang and what followed were a few protests from Shiro, along with chortling from the soul reaper and zanpakuto.

When Tensa finally let go Shiro edged away, rubbing his head as he did so. **"You didn't need to do that Tensa, it was uncalled for," **Shiro pouted which of course made the two laugh harder, did hollows even pout?

"Am I still a loser?" Tensa chuckled.

"…" Shiro mumbled something incoherent.

"What was that Shiro? I don't think Tensa heard you," Mugetsu smirked earning a scowl from the hollow.

"**I said no."**

"That's more like it," Tensa grinned, "Now about your battle, you'll have to find somewhere secluded as I'm sure people will find it strange to see you basically unconscious."

"What about he-"

Tensa cut Mugetsu off, "Your room is not an option, someone might walk in or you could have a roommate."

"But I-" Mugetsu growled when Tensa cut over him again.

"You may not have seen him yet but don't count it out," Tensa said, "He could ap-"

Tensa cut himself off at the sound of the door opening and within a few seconds he and Shiro had dematerialised. As the person entered the room Mugetsu noticed that Shiros mask hadn't dematerialised with him.

'Shiro your mask!'

'**Oh shit! I'll bring it back now.'** The mask disappeared and Mugetsu hoped it was in time as his roommate was already staring in the direction of where the mask had been, a frown evident on his face. Mugetsu quickly scooped up the school leaflet that he'd put by his side and began reading it. Apparently there were four main bocks to the school; Central, South, West and East. Central the smallest block as it was only dedicated to the canteen and assemblies. The West and East were both accommodation while the South held theory classes over four floors. The whole of the outside was for practical lessons, complete with a couple of Zanjutsu and Hakuda buildings and kido runs outside. More facilities were placed around outside the main building of the Academy, such as training dojos and scenario runs. Mugetsu would've taken in more but his roommate decided to introduce himself.

"Hi, I'm Arata Mori," a familiar voice spoke, but Mugetsu couldn't quite place it until he looked up at him. He was one of the teens he'd meet in the forest; the shorter boy with his midnight hair pulled back into a small braid.

Aratas golden eyes gave Mugetsu a calculative stare as he replied, "Uhh, hey, the name's Tamotsu Sato."

"I guess we're roommates then," Arata paused for a second. "Did you notice something on the floor down there?" he pointed to where Shiros mask had been.

"No, I was reading this," He flashed the leaflet and Arata who nodded before flopping down on the bed Tensa and Shiro had occupied only moments ago. He made no indication that he noticed the slightly crumpled sheets.

And after sprawling himself out on the bed Arata spoke, "Just out of curiosity, what classes are you in? We might be in the same ones."

Mugetsu thought for a second, "Hummm, I think I'm in class one for all of them."

"Seriously?" Arata turned on his side so he was facing Mugetsu, his eyes wide in disbelief. "You must be really good, I only managed to get in class one for Hakuda and Kido. I was placed in class two for the others."

"I guess that means we've got Hakuda and kido together," Mugetsu smirked, "I'm not sure how I got into the top for kido. I suck at controlling my spiritual pressure."

"They don't always go on control, maybe you have the potential to be a master at it one day and all you need is fine tuning on your control." Arata thought for a second, his brow creasing slightly, "Maybe, if I ever get time, I could give you a little bit of help."

'What do you think Tensa? I'm already getting lessons from Kouki…'

'You should accept, if you don't he may think something's wrong. After all what student doesn't want to be the best?'

'I guess.'

"Yeah, and if you want I'll help you with… Zanjutsu?"

"Really?" When Mugetsu nodded Arata began to ponder when they could do this, "We could do it on Sundays?" Mugetsu shook his head, "No? Okay then, what about Saturday?"

Mugetsu frowned, he had a battle with Shiro this weekend and he didn't want to give the hollow any reason to think he was a coward. "Saturdays are good, except this week I've got someone I need to meet…" he lied. Well it wasn't really a lie, he was meeting with someone after all, just not in the way anyone would expect.

"Is it alright if I bring my friends? You already met them at the gates today so I shouldn't think there'll be any issue."

"I thought I recognised you from somewhere," Mugetsu chuckled, "Sorry, I'm bad when it comes to remembering faces."

The boy grinned back, "Don't worry about it. So why did you decide to become a soul reaper..?"

And thus both teens began a lengthy conversation on why they wanted to be soul reapers, although most of the talking was done by Arata. Mugetsu merely repeated what he'd told everyone else that day before Arata explained his story.

The midnight haired boy told Mugetsu that he –along with his three friends- had all come from the 68th district. They'd come down a few days earlier in order to explore where everything was, it was during this time that they'd encountered him, Beelzebub, the captains and the Royal Guard. Although Arata brushed over this part -obviously not wanting to reveal all to Mugetsu yet- he still gave Mugetsu the basics and Mugetsu 'oohed' and 'ahhed' -so to speak- in the right places. Apparently the reason why they all wanted to become soul reapers was because they were all sick of living roughly and wanted to be something. Not just another soul wondering aimlessly around the Rukongai.

By the time they'd both finished talking to each other it was time for lights out. And as they both bid each other good night, turning off the lights as they did so Mugetsu shut his eyes, welcoming the blissfully silent darkness that came with it.

If only it remained quiet and peaceful for the entire night.

* * *

><p>*sighs* I finally managed it, I've no idea why I found this chapter so difficult to write but at least I finished it :D<p>

I won't do a OC file this time cause I think I've pretty much done the main ones, Academy people will start next week.

Btw I got a question for you guys, you know when Ichigo battles his hollow he turns part hollowy, would that happen to Mugetsu if he battled Shiro? I'm guessing it would but I just wanna check :P

Next time: Class's In Session

P.S I've finally given in to the fact that I need a beta :L so if any of you guys wanna be it send me a pm or something :)


	34. Class's In Session, Part One

Sorry about the long wait, exams and all...anyway updates will hopefully speed up :)

I decided to split this chapter into two as its been ages since I updated and I wanted to get the next chapter out.

Thanks to plainpain for beta reading my work :D

I own none of the rights to Bleach, those go to Tite Kubo.

'**Shiro'**

'Tensa

Class's In Session, Part One

* * *

><p>The sleep that overtook Mugetsu would've been peaceful had the normal darkness not pulled back, like a curtain, to unveil regrets that had slowly been forming in his conscience since the winter war had started.<p>

Faces overtook his vision as they cursed him for letting them die, with his mother right at the centre. He tried to deny the accusations but deep down he knew it was his fault. He'd let them all die, but the ones he felt most responsible for was the deaths of his mother, Ishida and Orihime. He'd as good as killed all of them.

His mother when he'd foolishly tried to save a girl who turned out to be part of the Grand Fisher's lure.

Ishida and Orihime, who he'd killed as a monstrous hollow. Mugetsu didn't know how he'd exactly killed them –not that he wanted to know- as he'd only regained consciousness to see the partially mutilated bodies of his two friends laying in front of him. It wasn't until the faces started disappearing that Mugetsu realised he'd be reliving the scenes that haunted him.

The echoing screams of accusation faded with the faces as the scene in front of Mugetsu changed. Light from overhead was projected onto the darkness in front of him. Not wanting to face the horrifying memory that he knew would appear on the screen Mugetsu tried to move away only to find himself bound to an old wooden chair. Leather straps were what held his wrists and ankles to the oak chair. Resorting to the next best option Mugetsu closed his eyes prepared to just listen to the replaying memories. However, that didn't play out either because Mugetsu felt someone prying his eyes open, in which they eventually succeeded.

Turning his head to see who had prised his eyes open, said eyes landed on a ghostly Ishida who was glaring at him.

_ "You shall watch the pain you put me through, and relive every moment of it,"_ the twisted voice of Ishida hissed just as the scene began to play. Mugetsu tried to shake out of the bonds, screaming his apologies but he wasn't in control. Even after everything that had happened Mugetsu was not in control of his past, since coming back in time this was the first time such memories plagued him. He'd mind had been occupied with so much that these nightmares had been unable to reach him. But now that he was vulnerable from recent events, the nightmares had sought him out, intent on living up to their name.

On the screen the memory played from the point of view of Mugetsu when he was a hollow. He was currently stood over the bloodied body of Ulquiorra, the familiar black sword of Tensa Zangetsu hovering over Ulquiorras neck. Ready to carve up his corpse. Just as he was about to push the blade into the white neck an equally white sleeve came into view as its hand gripped his wrist.

He didn't move. The owner of the hand allowed a second a silence before he attempted to reason with his friend. Not knowing that his friend didn't exist at that moment, only a monster stood before him.

_"That's enough, Kurosaki. The battle's over. He was our enemy, but there's no need to carve up his corpse."_ Ishida murmured and when there was no movement from the hollow he continued again, but in a more demanding voice, _"I said enough Kurosaki!"_ The hollow made no movement as the sight was still cast on Ulquiorras neck. He tried pushing his arm down so he could finish what he started, but the quincy was having none of it as he continued to hold his wrist in a tight grip.

_ "Can you hear me, Kurosaki? It's time to stop! Do it and you really will no longer be human!"_ The chain shook as he pressed with more force, inching closer and closer to the espadas pale neck. _"Don't Kurosaki!"_ Ishida yelled as he tried to stop the blade from getting any closer, but the hollow had had enough.

In the blink of an eye he ripped his arm away from the quincys grip, thrusting the sword down as his did so and then slicing through half of the espadas neck. Growling he threw the long black zanpakuto at the white figure. The sword hit, impaling the teen right in the gut as it forced blood out the other side. As the sword impaled deeper Ishida was thrown backwards because of the force only to be stopped by one of the many boulders that littered the place. The blade followed through, binding Ishida to the rock and immobilising him further.

As this happened the ghostly Ishida who was still holding Mugetsu's eyes open removed his hands and materialised a Tensa replica. A sick grin made its way onto his face as he plunged the blade into Mugetsu's gut, mimicking the scene he'd just watched. As it cut through his flesh, Mugetsu screamed, he tried not to but the pain was too great especially when the blade scrapped ever so slightly against the side of his backbone. The grin on Ishida's face grew wide –if that was possible- as he twisted the sword inside Mugetsu's gut causing more screaming, along with thrashing, to commence.

He tore his eyes away from the screen, the dialogue barely audible over the cursing and pain-filled hisses that escaped Mugetsu's mouth.

_"Ishida-kun!"_ Orihime's scream gained the slight attention of the hollow as he continued forwards, stopping when he remembered why he'd been fighting.

_"Will…save…"_ The words came out broken, hollows never usually talked to anything. They only ever howled their pain. _"Will save…Will save…I will save you._" Orihime gasped at the words and the hollow continued forwards towards Ishida.

Suddenly ghost Ishida grabbed Mugetsu's head and forced him back to watching the memory. He chuckled into Mugetsu's ear before whispering, _"Here comes the best bit!"_

On the screen the hollow had stopped, it looked forwards at Ishida who was only just conscious and began to charge a cero between his horns. The humanity was slipping away from him. Mugetsu could feel it, he could feel what his hollow felt, the sense of protection was still there but it was fading as the cero continued its charge.

Orihime screamed, but her words meant nothing to the hollow as the pain of losing everything started becoming too much. The only way he would be able to stop it would be to kill and consume.

The blood red cero fired, its course set for the teen right in front of him. The hollow grinned to himself, now he could get back to the other one. That was what the hollow assumed, but then he didn't expect the interference an orange shield-

Mugetsu had to stop watching as he was hit with an identical blast of red that licked at his bones, burning and peeling away at his flesh. The blood that had poured from his earlier wound was not non-existent as it was burnt away. Mugetsu's gurgled screams were accompanied by the hollow laughter of the ghostly Ishida was stood before him.

_"How does it feel?"_ He asked a smirk on his face, _"How does it feel to be attacked by someone you consider a friend?"_ The smirk began to disappear and the ghosts voice became more hysterical as he echoed Mugetsu's conscience, _"I was trying to help you Ichigo! I wanted to stop you from becoming something you weren't! But all I got was a long painful death as I listened to you butcher the girl you'd come back to save! I couldn't do anything!"_

Suddenly he morphed into the Ichigo from the fight -wounds and all- and began voicing more of the guilt that plagued Mugetsu's mind, _"I was weak! I couldn't do anything to stop it! If only I'd been stronger I could've stopped it all from happening! I-"_

The figure was cut off as the world around Mugetsu began to shake and the voice of Arata spoke above them, "Hey! Tamotsu! Time to get up!" There was a pause. "Tamotsu?"

"We shall continue next time you rest," Ichigo sneered before he dispersed into smoke and was shortly followed by everything else in the room. Darkness descended along with the pain as Mugetsu was pulled into the brightness of the morning light.

~/~

**Morpheus' Domain**

"It is done, although the dream was interrupted before much could happen," The emotionless voice of the god of dreams murmured as his empty blue eyes pinned Shimi with an unwavering gaze.

"There's always next time," Shimi nodded, "You're sure you cannot tell me his location?" Shimi had originally 'requested' the gods' services in order to find Mugetsu, but that didn't seem to be the case. The dream god had refused saying it was against their code.

"I have told you this before," Morpheus said, "It goes against our code. We do not meddle in things that are outside of our realm. To do so would be to bring down the wrath of Zeus, something I would rather avoid."

"Surely you can, just this once?" Shimi persisted and would have said more but Morpheus held his hand up for silence.

"I will not repeat this again _diekdikiti_, I will not find the location of this child," Morpheus repeated. "The dreams to come will be enough to make him no longer a threat, for the allocated time period. Once the week is up I shall leave him alone, the boy has suffered enough and I only do this because I owe you for saving my son from the fallen."

Shimi snorted. He'd been the one that had ordered the fallen to attack Morpheus's son, knowing the god would owe him for the rescue. Only he'd not counted on the inability of not being able to determine Mugetsu's location, damn them and their codes!

"Maybe he won't be so lucky next time," Shimi said in a subtle threat.

A brow rose on Morpheus's face –a rare sign of any form of emotion- and the god spoke in his usual monotone voice, "Are you threatening my son? If so I suggest you reconsider your words, you do not want to invoke my wrath as even you must sleep once in a while."

A subtle threat, but one that Shimi headed. He did not fancy being stuck in a deep sleep for the rest of time. There were surely other ways to find Mugetsu as he already had others on the lookout. There was nowhere the boy could hide that he wouldn't find.

~/~

Breathing heavily Mugetsu winced as he shifted his body into a sitting position. Arata stood beside his bed; a look of concern was evident on his roommates face. A slight groan escaped Mugetsu's lips as his body still clung to the pain that had been inflicted in the dream. His skin was hot and clammy but regardless of this Mugetsu couldn't help but shiver. The dream-no nightmare, had felt strange there was no doubt about it. However, that would have to wait until Tensa was awake as the zanpakuto was likely to have an answer.

"Tamotsu are you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost, do you-" Arata began to ramble, unease overtaking his features.

"I'm fine, just…a bad dream that's all," Mugetsu cut him off. "What time is it?"

"Half past eight."

Mugetsu groaned again, it felt like he'd only been asleep a few hours. Arata smirked slightly as his half-asleep roommate rolled out of bed almost crashing to the floor as he did. However, he couldn't help but notice that something more was going on with Tamotsu. The albino teen had been mumbling multiple names such as 'Uquiorra,' 'Ishida' and 'Orihime'. There had also been something along the lines of saving someone but the words had been hard to make out. Although Arata assumed it just had something to do with the family he used to live with.

"Shall I meet you in the canteen?" Arata asked as he made his way to the door.

"Uhh sure," Mugetsu grunted in agreement.

"I'll introduce you to the others when you get there," Arata opened the door and called out just as he left, "See you in a bit Tamotsu."

When Arata left Mugetsu pulled himself up from the hard wooden floor and made his way over to the chest-a-draws to pull out a clean set of uniform. He quickly switched out of his old one and into the new one, thankful that Arata had left, as there would have been some explaining to do about the rippling blackness that was attached to his legs.

A frustrated sigh escaped Mugetsu as he flopped back onto his bed with his clean set of academy clothes on. Running his hand up the snake band that trailed up his arm Mugetsu almost jumped when a familiar voice spoke.

"How are you feeling Ichigo?" Tensa asked as he materialised opposite Mugetsu, his complexion paler than normal.

"I don't know," Mugetsu admitted. "I thought I'd dealt with it as much as I could. I know I'll never be able to forget what I did but-" He choked as he thought about the memories that had been dragged up during his 'restful' sleep.

"I agree, it is strange how this has suddenly materialised. However, the way in which this occurred was not normal," Mugetsu shot him a questioning look and the young zanpakuto gave a weary smile. "There was something different, had it been a normal nightmare me and your hollow could've pulled you out of it. This one was different, you were surrounded by a barrier but I sensed no forced entry into your soul. We tried to get you out –which is why Shiro isn't here- but we only ended up exhausting ourselves. You should ask Ananke when you see her."

"Is my soul a pit stop or something? Everyone seems to be invading it recently!" Mugetsu growled. His concerns were shared by the zanpakuto opposite him; this case especially set Tensa on edge. Something had invaded Mugetsu's soul but apparently it was allowed to be there, and that only made it worse.

"It is best not to dwell on it too much, we've other more imminent issues," Tensa said, knowing it was for the best.

"What issues?"

"You being on time for class for a start."

"Shit! What time is it?" Mugetsu cursed, surely not that much time could've passed since Arata left?

"I'm only estimating but I believe it is almost nine o'clock," Tensa replied nonchalantly.

Mugetsu relaxed, he still had thirty minutes before class started and he could live without breakfast for one morning. "I guess I best go then-" Mugetsu began to say goodbye to Tensa when the door bust open to reveal Arata along with his other three friends. Tensing Mugetsu cast a quick glance at where Tensa had been, only relaxing when he noticed that the zanpakuto had dematerialised.

"Are you eating this morning Tamotsu?" Arata grinned, happy with the jumpy reaction he'd got from Mugetsu.

Resuming his usual scowl Mugetsu got up, "Yeah, I was just on my way down."

"Oh! You're the guy we saw yesterday!" The overly happy yell of Hitomi called from the doorway.

"Yeah, it's…." Mugetsu thought for a second, "Hitomi right?"

"Yeah this is Shizuko," she pointed to the timid ashen-haired girl. "And this is Katsu," she indicated to the guy stood next to Arata as he rolled his eyes.

"We can introduce ourselves Hitomi," He sighed.

"Yeah, but it's easier this way and quicker," She said grinning.

"Speaking of being quick, Tamotsu you should hurry down to the canteen 'cause you've only got fifteen minutes until it closes," Arata said as he began pushing Mugetsu towards the door. "I'll see you in history."

Allowing himself to be pushed out the door Mugetsu bid them all goodbye before continuing down towards the canteen.

Had there not been so many people going to and from the canteen Mugetsu wouldn't have been able to find it. He'd left the east wing with only a few people casting glances at him; thankful the interest in him seemed to have died down. Mugetsu sped along the corridors going in the opposite direction to the majority of people who'd obviously already eaten.

He managed to arrive at the canteen just in time to grab two slices of tamagoyaki and sit down at a recently vacated table to eat. Trying to be quick, yet take his time; Mugetsu consumed the tamagoyaki in silence. However, just as he finished the second piece Kouki decided to drop in opposite him.

"Running late on your first day?" Kouki said with mock shock, "Naughty Tamotsu, shouldn't been staying up all night."

Mugetsu merely grunted at Kouki before sending him a scowl.

The noble grinned, "Not awake yet?"

Mugetsu continued staring at him for a moment before speaking, "Something like that." It was true, although he'd been awake for more than ten minutes the burst of energy from waking up had left him feeling more tired than he had been last night.

Black brows drew together in concern as Kouki studied Mugetsu, noting the slight off-white tinge to the albinos skin along with the tiredness that laced Mugetsu's eyes. "Are you okay Tamotsu? Didn't you sleep well?" Kouki asked.

"Uh... yeah, must be to do with sleeping in an unfamiliar place I guess," Mugetsu shrugged.

"You'll get used to it," Kouki said. "Are you going to sign up for your extra classes then?"

"Huh?"

"The signing up board for the extra classes is over there," He pointed to a giant notice board that had a few people milling around it.

"I probably should," Mugetsu sighed as he began to get up. Kouki chuckled at his friend's obvious exhaustion earning a more prominent scowl than usual, though this only increased the laughing.

With a slight laugh Kouki got up, "I'll see you later Tamotsu, enjoy your first day." Another smirk curled onto Kouki's face before he turned and left Mugetsu to sign up for his classes.

Grumbling about how nobles should act Mugetsu deposited his plate on one of the metal counters and made his way over to the notice board. There were eight large sheets of paper lining the board and they already contained many names. Searching for the ones he wanted Mugetsu hoped there was still space for him to join them.

When he located the lists for kido, healing and zanpakuto meditation he heaved a sigh of relief and quickly scrawled his name on the lists using the pens that had been left around for this. After signing up Mugetsu moved out the way for others who wanted to sign up and made his way back to his room. Just as he reached him room the bell went for first lesson. Cursing slightly Mugetsu grabbed some paper, the writing equipment and his map before cramming them into the small white bag he'd found under his bed. Glancing over the room to make sure he hadn't forgotten anything Mugetsu bolted from the room and hopefully in the direction of his first class

~/~

Mugetsu only managed to be five minutes late for history thanks to the few people he'd bumped into in the hallways pointing him in the right direction. This however, didn't make the teacher any less pleased. Tanaka-sensei had scolded him for being late, reminding him not to do it again and that she would let it slide this time as he was –like the others- a first year. Mugetsu looked around for a free seat and quickly made his way over to the only free one left that was next to Arata.

"For this term we shall be studying the structure of international law and move on to local law next term. Are we all clear?" She smiled when everyone nodded, "Good, now does anyone here know anything about the Royal Guard?"

There were a many blank looks on the faces around the room but after a few second five hands rose into the air four being Arata, Katsu, Hitomi and Shizuko's the other being Kabexnuf. Nodding Tanaka-sensei motioned for Kabexnuf to put his hand down while she asked the others what they knew.

"Yes, you?" She motioned to Shizuko who stood up before speaking.

"Umm, well we ran into two a few days ago…" She started timidly. "They were chasing the person who's been murdering the nobles." Mugetsu flinched slightly at that; he may not be that friendly with them but the idea of people thinking he was capable of something like that made him increasing angry with Shimi.

"Two?" Sensei beamed, "Do you know who they were?"

"They said their names were Azrael and Anubis I think…" Shizuko trailed off hoping she got the foreign names right.

Senseis smile grew bigger, "Looks like you ran into the elites, which is what we're going to be starting on today. After a short introduction of course. Thank you…?"

"Shizuko Nakamura."

"Thank you Shizuko," Sensei said and Shizuko sat down. Turning to Arata sensei asked, "What about you…?"

"Arata Mori, and I met them the same time as Shizuko sensei," Arata replied.

"I see, is that the case with you two?" she asked Katsu and Hitomi who both nodded in agreement.

"Okay, thank you. Now as you all know we have an international student in our class today, he'll only be in the first year history class though as he's already been through your standard training. Kabexnuf, do you mind giving a brief introduction about the Royal Guard?" Sensei queried as the Egyptian nodded and silently moved to the front of the class.

"The Royal Guard, as you all should know exists to protect the Soul King and the Royal Family. However, there are many other duties that we do. While there are always groups of us protecting the Royal Family others are positioned around the world or dealing with international crises and crimes, such as the current murdering of nobility," Kabexnuf said. "The groups usually consist of four people from different pantheons, but sometimes there're only three. The size of a group depends on what section they belong to; groups of four normally deal with investigations while smaller teams act as guards. Overall the Royal Guard answers to the Soul King, but they also answer to their pantheons ambassador –which in your case is the captain commander. Although they answer to the Soul King the Royal Guard rarely see him unless it is completely necessary."

"Thank you Kabexnuf that was a very good introduction," Sensei said as she ushered him back to his seat. "Now class make sure to make notes on what I'm about to tell you," As she spoke there was the slight ruffle of papers as everyone got themselves ready to copy what she was going to say. "The Royal Guard is one of the highest forms or authority around the world. They have the jurisdiction to do whatever they need to do in order to bring justice to the world. They are rarely seen by anyone as it is uncommon for international threats to occur and they all reside in the Royal Dimension. When becoming a Royal Guard you're given the ability to travel between the Royal Dimension, the spirit world and the world of the living."

Tanaka-sensei paused to allow everyone to catch up. When they'd caught up she resumed her lecture, "When it comes to joining the Royal Guard you do not apply to them but they ask you to join. For us it is normally older captains, which join as they have the most experience, but there have been a few occasions when a younger captain has been requested to join. As Kabexnuf said earlier there are different groups within the Royal Guard, investigators, guards and the elites. The elites are very powerful and tend to specialize in either investigations or guarding very important nobles. The two Shizuko mentioned –Anubis and Azrael- are both elites who specialise in investigations but that doesn't mean they cannot hold their own in a battle…"

For the majority of the lesson sensei dictated to them how the Royal Guard worked. That there was an annual meeting each year, which was held by a different pantheon each year, and this year, just so happened to be Japans turn –much to Mugetsu's distress. She also mentioned that some of the guards would be paying a visit to the Academy when they arrive, which would be in two weeks! – Even more to Mugetsu's distress.

Apparently because this was happening so close to the beginning of the year the majority of teachers had decided to be stricter than usual, as they didn't want to disappoint the Royal guards that would be visiting.

After digressing slightly Tanaka-sensei resumed the end of her lecture that about how the ambassadors. She told them that the ambassadors were not directly involved with the Royal Guard as they were still tied to their pantheons court. They were people who had been asked to join the Royal Guard and had declined only accepting the option to aid in looking for new sentinels.

When sensei had finished the lecture she'd gotten them to do a few activities before the bell had rang. They all packed up their stuff and left the room feeling slightly more knowledgeable than they had before. Although for Mugetsu it was more of the fact that he was feeling more concerned then he had before, maybe joining the Academy hadn't been such a good idea after all.

~/~

Hoho theory and practical crawled along as Mugetsu struggled to suppress his almost mastery of the art. In theory they'd glossed over the advantages and disadvantages of using hoho in battle, the main disadvantage being you became too reliant on the speed it brought you instead of relying on your main combat skills. Mugetsu had also discovered that Shizuko was in his class, which was something that surprised him somewhat.

In practical they'd spent the first half of the lesson practicing short distance hoho before going into short games of tag against each other. At first Mugetsu had encountered issues with making himself slower for his partners as they had become increasingly frustrated with how easily he'd picked it up.

By the end of the lesson those who'd been Mugetsu's partner were completely exhausted and had a newfound grudge against the albino. Especially one person who'd believed himself to be above everyone else.

"Oi, albino!" Called a boy with short black hair who name was Nori. Mugetsu stopped his leave of the training field and turned around.

"What?" He called back, not in the mood for any punks.

"How'd you get so good?"

Mugetsu shrugged, "I just pick things up quickly."

"I bet you think you're so great don't you? You're probably laughing inside while the rest of us struggle to get down the basics," Nori sneered gaining the attention of others around them.

Mugetsu sighed and was about to try and explain that it wasn't the case but Nori cut over him.

"See! You think we're not even worth your time, but I heard that you're almighty skills weren't enough to save-" He was cut off as Mugetsu launched himself at the boy with a fast and hard hitting Shunpo. The boy had skipped right past insulting Mugetsu as a person and unknowingly moved onto a subject that was very touchy.

"Don't talk about things you know nothing about!" Mugetsu snarled ignoring the protests from within as he tightened his hold around Nori's neck. "I tired! I tried to save them! I would've been dead had she not have been there! But all that happened was the unleashing of a monster that killed them all…. I murdered-" Mugetsu choked as he spoke but was interrupted as a familiar voice yelled something.

"Kuchiki-super-kick!" Kouki yelled as he flew across the field and initiated a hard-hitting kick that connected with Mugetsus side and sent him flying. Collective gasps echoed around the field while Kouki and Mugetsu ended up in a pile on the opposite side of the area.

"What they hell Kouki!" Mugetsu screamed as he tried to detangle himself from the giggling noble.

"You…should've…seen…your face!" Kouki chortled as he dissolved into a fit of laughter, which was amplified when he saw Mugetsus scowl.

"Che."

"Aw come on Tamotsu, don't be so grumpy!"

"You didn't just get kicked by a crazy noble," Mugetsu scowled.

"But I did just kick a crazy first year," Kouki sobered. "Speaking of which why were you holding your classmate in a death grip?"

"It's nothing," Mugetsu dismissed.

"Don't try dodging my question, you might as well admit it."

Growling Mugetsu's grudgingly answered, "He brought up a touchy subject. It wouldn't have been so bad if I didn't have a weird dream about it last night. Happy?"

Kouki sighed, "Tamotsu, you shouldn't beat yourself up about what happened in the past. You're lucky I was around or something worse may have happened." Kouki paused, "That was one hell of a shunpo though, you were right about being a fast learner."

"Uh thanks…"

Kouki flashed a grin before turning to where Nori stood frozen, "Don't corner and insult your classmates because they're better than you. Maybe if you'd been more sincere Tamotsu would've given you advice on your shunpo."

Nori merely nodded in response and satisfied he'd dealt with the situation Kouki turned back to Mugetsu and grabbed him by the arm. Before the albino could protest Kouki shunpoed them away to the tree they'd been sat in yesterday.

* * *

><p>Sooo Mugetsus managed to make an 'enemy' on the first day, aha, all shall continue next time...<p>

I wouldn't worry too much about me introducing Morpheus, he's not going to have much of a part apart from interfering with Mugetsus dreams as there's not much else he's allowed to do.

Quick question...If I decided to...should there be romance? I'm terrible at writing it but I guess it might make the story interesting, just who would there be a romance between? There's not really a main female lead in this story and I'm not gonna go into IchiHime or IchiRuki seeing how Orihime loves the Ichigo in this time and I'm just not really an IchiRuki fan...plus they all hate him right now...but any ideas are welcome.

Thanks for reading, don't forget to review :D

diekdikití – Pretender (Greek)

Tamagoyaki – Japanese rolled omelette, normally chopped into individual slices from what I found…

P.S I'll start the OC profiles in the next chatper, seeing as they'll all properly be introduced.


	35. Class's In Session, Part Two

Thanks to plainpain for Betaing :)

I own none of the rights to Bleach, those go to Tite Kubo.

**'Shiro'**

'Tensa

Class's In Session, Part Two

* * *

><p>Instead of being sat in the tree Mugetsu and Kouki settled for sitting at its base. The Kuchiki had deposited Mugetsu on the floor before joining him a few seconds later. Silence hung in the air for a few moments as Kouki allowed Mugetsu to collect his scrambled thoughts.<p>

"So, what's got you so on edge today?" Kouki finally asked.

"Just what I said earlier, a weird dream."

Kouki 'tsked' before he tried again, "I know you're lying to me Tamotsu. Something as simple as a bad dream doesn't tend to make people snap like that. I'm not asking you to reveal all, just give me something to go on here."

"He brought up the people I lived with, the ones who died," The partial lie came to Mugetsu's lips effortlessly. He'd grown used to brushing everything onto the made up event but knew his real past would some come to light whether he wanted to or not. He knew Shimi would make sure of it.

Kouki eyes flashed with understanding, while he didn't know the pain Mugetsu was going through he could sympathise a little. He'd after all –more or less- lost his father.

"I see, rumors travel fast around here," Kouki murmured. "You shouldn't let it get to you, and I know it's hard but you need to let go. If they truly loved you they would want you to move on."

"Maybe one day I'll make up for it," Mugetsu whispered so Kouki could barely hear him. "But some of it I can never gain forgiveness for."

Kouki, deciding the heart to heart was now over gave Mugetsu a light punch to the shoulder, "Now that shunpo you did. Amazing for a first year I must say, maybe you're not as much as a lost cause I thought you were."

Mugetsu twitched, "You thought I was a lost cause?"

"Well you always seem to have that pathetic look on your face," Kouki grinned.

"What look?" Mugetsu scowled which made Kouki grin wider.

"That one."

Mugetsu tried to remove the scowl on his face, which only made the noble laugh again. He then growled something about Kouki being a stupid, stuck-up Kuchiki and that he could beat his ass any day.

"Is that a challenge Tamotsu?" Kouki asked as he caught the end of Mugetsu's ramble.

"No," Mugetsu replied as he put a lid on his temptation to battle the noble.

"Aw, is Tamotsu all talk?" Teased the un-noble-like noble, but before Mugetsu could come up with a retort the bell rang, signalling the end of their break.

"I'll see you later, try not to kill any of your classmates okay?" Kouki chortled as he got up.

"Why you!" Mugetsu growled as he got up about to launch himself at Kouki so he could deliver a playful punch. However, the noble had other ideas and quickly moved out the way –laughing as he did so.

"Come back here you bastard!" Mugetsu called after the steadily retreating form of the hysterical Kouki. A few students cast Mugetsu curious glances as the wondered why he was yelling at the noble in such an uncouth way but he ignored their stares and made his way to kido – grumbling all the way as he did so.

~/~

Mugetsu got to class just in time to catch the end of the line as they all shuffled into the classroom. When he entered the room behind the others he caught sight of Arata and Shizuko who were waving for him to go join them. Smiling slightly he walked over to them not without noticing someone whisper he faux name. Turning his head he cast his eyes on Nori whose face was full of disdain when he locked eyes with Mugetsu.

He was surrounded by a few of his friends and had apparently been telling them the story of what happened not too long ago. They were all silent when they noticed he was staring at them, but they all turned to give him equal looks of venom. Great, this was just what he needed, more people to hate him. As if there weren't enough in the world already. Sighing Mugetsu continued on to where Arata and Shizuko sat at the far end of the room, away from glares of the newest members of the 'let's-all-hate-Mugetsu-club'.

When he reached them and placed himself between the midnight-haired boy and the ashen-haired girl they both shot him questioning looks –Arata more so than Shizuko.

"What was that all about?" Arata asked.

"Well…I…uh…kind of attacked Nori after Hoho…" Mugetsu admitted while reaching into his bag and pulling out the equipment he'd need for the lesson. There was a soft bang at the desk next to him and he glanced over to see Arata with his head against his desk.

"Arata what are you…" Shizuko trailed off nervously.

"You attacked The Nori Hojo!" When Mugetsu just gave him a blank stare Arata looked like he was about to explode, but thankfully Shizuko decided to speak up.

"Ummm," She began nervously but when Mugetsu nodded at her to continue she smiled and began her speech. "The Hojo clan is one of the four great clans of the Soul Society and Nori Hojo is next in line to be the clans head. His father Shoji Hojo is the current clan head and is one of the elders that help govern the Soul Soceity…"

"You know quite a lot," Mugetsu grinned at her causing the shy girl to blush furiously.

"Well…I-I-I've always…been interested in…t-the history… o-of t-the S-S-Soul S-Society," Shizuko stammered.

"Hey calm down, it's better than knowing stuff like that instead of just how to fight."

"Sorry, I just get nervous around people I don't know that well," She said calmly before giving Mugetsu a slight smile.

"If you two are done, I'd like to continue my rant at how stupid Tamotsu is," Arata said as he rested his chin on his hand while casting Mugetsu a small glare.

"Hey I didn't start it!" Mugetsu protested.

"I don't care, you don't want to annoy that guy. He'll make your life a living hell."

"It already is," Mugetsu muttered.

"What was that?" Arata growled, unimpressed.

Mugetsu would've retorted had a familiar looking teacher not strolled into the room and dumped a pile of books onto her desk, gaining silence from the room. The teachers purple hair hung loosely to her waist as she turned to address the class.

"Welcome to advanced Kido, I'm your teacher Mi Maeda but you shall all refer to me as Maeda-sensei," She announced as her grey eyes took in the class. "Now, just because you're in the top class doesn't mean you're going to have it easy. It means the opposite; you'll have more work to do in order to make you the best!"

A few groans echoed throughout the room and Maeda-sensei smiled, satisfied she'd got her point across.

"Right, who shall we have to…" Maeda-sensei trailed off as her eyes searched the room. Her grey eyes settled in Mugetsu's direction but the albino clung to the hope that she wasn't going to ask him, "You, girl at the end." Mugetsu sighed in relief as sensei instructed Shizuko to give out the books.

After a minute or so of books being handed out, Shizuko returned to her seat and sensei began the lesson by explaining the different types of Kido –Hado, Bakudo and healing. Hado and Bakudo were the combat Kido, which would inflict damage or bind an opponent, respectively. Healing was mainly used by the fourth squad as they specialised in it, and only those who choose healing as an extra class would be taught it. They were also taught the incantations to both Bakudo #1: Sai and Hado #1: Sho which they would have to learn for the practical next lesson.

After going through various other things such as safety and how to actually pull reiatsu into the spell the lesson ended with the ringing on the bell. As everyone put their equipment away Maeda-sensei yelled to everyone that she would meet them out on the practice field and under no circumstances were they to start without her.

"So Tamotsu looking forward to showing us how good your Kido is?" Arata smirked as he Mugetsu and Shizuko left the main building and continued towards the practice field.

"You're really good at kido?" Shizuko beamed, not noticing the sarcasm in Aratas voice.

"Uh, no-" Mugetsu began to deny but Arata cut over him.

"Of course he his Shizuko, why else would he be in top class?" As he spoke Mugetsu pinned his yellow eyes with a glare.

"Oh."

"I'm not really that good Shizuko, I can barely control my spiritual pressure," Mugetsu sighed inwardly thinking that he didn't need to anymore.

Shizuko's eyebrows rose as she seemed to realise something, "Your spiritual pressure seems to be very high for a first year, maybe that's your problem."

"Huh?"

"Well…when people tell you how to control your spiritual pressure they usually say to imagine a small ball or a pond. Something small," Shizuko began. "If you were to do that then all of your power would be forced into a small space –in theory- so you're going to be using a higher concentration of…um…power. At least I think that's how it works…"

"Shizuko! You've been holding out on us!" Arata grinned.

"What? Um…no…" Shizuko said as her face turned red.

"I think you're right," Mugetsu said coming out of his trail of thought as they reached the entrance to the training grounds.

"Hey! Albino!" A familiar –but unwanted- voice called out making everyone turn in its and Mugetsu's direction.

"What?" Mugetsu asked turning to face Nori –who would've guessed?

"I bet you can't hit one of those targets straight on," Nori challenged, nodding towards the square targets inside the practice field.

"Why would I want to do that?" Mugetsu sighed, "And Maeda-sensei said no firing spells until she arrives."

"Looks like we got ourselves a little teacher's pet," Nori called as he friends started laughing at Mugetsu.

"Like I care what you think, I stopped caring about stuff like that ages ago," Mugetsu replied blankly and turned back to Arata and Shizuko. There was some scuffling of feet behind him and Mugetsu watched as Arata's and Shizuko's eyes went wide. Turning to see what was wrong Mugetsu saw that Nori was chanting.

"I don't think that's a good idea," Mugetsu called, "Nori stop!"

"Hado#1 Sho!" Nori screamed sending the overly powerful low-level kido in their direction. It was a wonder it hadn't blown up in his hands, but there was little time to think about that.

Mugetsu couldn't think of what to do that wouldn't blow his cover. Should he try a different kido? Would it even repel what Nori fired? Maybe he didn't need to use a kido….

Realising what he should do Mugetsu grabbed Arata and Shizuko by the arm and pulled them along into a fast shunpo. Just as he did he felt the heat of the kido crawl up his leg, gritting his teeth Mugetsu pulled further away. Although, as he did so the familiar voice of Maeda-sensei could be heard as she yelled, "Hado#39 Enkosen!"

A barrier erupted stopping the blast from going any further, rendering it a harmless gust of wind which blew calmly over the crowd of students. Mugetsu landed with Arata and Shizuko in tow, flinching slightly when his slightly burnt leg hit the ground. Shizuko and Arata both noticed this and were about to say something when their heads snapped up to the furious voice of sensei.

"Nori Hojo!" Maeda-sensei roared as she stormed up to said pupil. "What in the name of Kami did you think you were doing?"

"I-I…um…" Nori stammered unable to produce a proper answer.

"Well?" She growled, her arms crossed over her front expectantly.

"He fired a kido at me first!" Nori lied and although sensei knew this she turned to Mugetsu, "Did you?"

"No, Maeda-sensei."

She then glanced down at his leg where some of the uniform had been burnt away. But there was no skin underneath, only a strange black material. She frowned at this but decided to ask him about it after he had his leg tended to.

"Go get your leg seen to Tamotsu," She said then looked at Shizuko, "Take him to the nurse."

"Sensei I don't need an escort, I can take myself," Mugetsu said as he bowed respectively and began to leave. Trying not to put too much pressure on his leg he kept going until the seething voice of Maeda-sensei was far behind him.

'Shiro, can you heal this?'

**'Sure can Kingy,'** a second after the hollow spoke the pain in his leg went away Mugetsu relaxed slightly. It hadn't been as bad as it looked as Mugetsu's threshold for pain had increased so much that it was barely noticeable. But that didn't stop him from flinching when he'd walked on it.

'Thanks, Shiro.'

'You need to be more careful in future Ichigo. For all we know that attack could've been an attempt to reveal your true identity.'

'Yeah I know, but why would Nori want to reveal my identity?'

'That I'm unsure of but he could be working for the Royal Guard or-'

'He could just be a very jealous student,' Mugetsu cut over the zanpakuto. Tensa was over-reacting, not everyone was working against them.

**'A crazy jealous student,'** Shiro corrected with a laugh.

'A friend for you,' Mugetsu replied with a smirk as he began navigating his way towards his dorm.

**'Someone for me to kill?'**

'You have a twisted sense of friendship…'

'He's a hollow what do you expect?'

**'Cruel king, it's not my fault if he dies while we 'play'.'**

'Twisted sense of friendship…' Tensa repeated with a slight laugh that rolled around Mugetsu's head. 'Anyway, you should stay vigilant. The fact that one of the Royal Guard trainees is here should be enough of a reason.'

'Yeah I know Tensa, but it could just be pure coincidence...' Mugetsu reasoned as he arrived at the dorm block. The hallway was empty due to everyone being in class, and Mugetsu couldn't help but be thankful for that. Turning down the hallway he made his way to the wooden stairs and proceeded upwards to his room.

'It may not be coincidence.'

**'Come on Tensa, how would they know King's here?'**

'The last time they saw him he ran into potential students, which probably gave them the idea.'

Mugetsu opened the door to his room a scowl creeping onto his face, 'Damn it! But they're not sure we're here right?'

'For them it is only a possibility.'

'So we just need to be extra careful?'

'Like I said yesterday be extra careful around the Egyptian.'

'That shouldn't be too difficult. He's only in one of my classes.'

**'Forgetting about Saturdays extra ones?'**

'Fine, Maybe those ones too,' Mugetsu conceded as he pulled out a new set of uniform and quickly got dressed. After getting dressed he left the partially burnt uniform on his bed and gave a quick glance towards the clock that he hadn't noticed yesterday. There was apparently still thirty minutes of the lesson left so if he hurried there might be time for him to try one spell.

**'They're not going to notice your speedy recovery are they?' **Shiro's sarcastic voice called.

'I'll just say it wasn't as bad as it looked.'

**'Whatever you say Kingy.'**

Ignoring his hollow, Mugetsu decided to shunpo back to the practice field, which worked out fine because everyone was in class. Of course there were a few occasions when someone had almost spotted him but hopefully the only thing they saw was a flash of white.

Mugetsu could tell when he was nearing the practice field when the yells and explosions of kidos filled his ears. Stopping his shunpo he walked over to the entrance just in time to see Shizuko fire a perfect Sho at her target, hitting it square on. A few cheers were aimed in her direction as she quickly rushed to the back and away from all the attention. Mugetsu smiled slightly before turning his attention to finding Maeda-sensei. A few of his classmates gave him curious glances –probably wondering why he was back so early- but Mugetsu continued his search for sensei.

He spotted her looking considerably less like a volcano as she calmly showed a boy with short brown hair what he was doing wrong. Mugetsu watched as he patiently waited for her to finish noticing that her hands were shaking slightly. When she was done she quickly turned around and almost walked straight into Mugetsu.

"OH! Tamotsu? What're you doing back?" She asked coming to a halt a foot from Mugetsu, casting her eyes down to where he'd been burnt.

"The...uh…burn wasn't that bad so I came back after changing," Mugetsu replied.

"You sure you're okay to be putting pressure on it?" Maeda-sensei checked, a worried look crossing her face.

"Yeah Maeda-sensei, I've had worse," Mugetsu assure her.

"Well if you're good to go then join the back of Arata's line, they're one person down," She indicated to one of the lines in the middle where Arata along with 2 others stood.

"Thank you sensei," Mugetsu said and began to walk towards his line.

"Oh and Tamotsu?" She called and he turned back around, "What was the black material under your uniform? You know you're only allowed to wear the designated uniform, yes?"

Mugetsu swallowed a curse; he should've guessed that at least one person would've spotted it.

'How the hell to I explain it?'

'You forgot to take your pyjama bottoms off this morning?' Tensa supplied causing Mugetsu to twitch.

'I am not saying that!'

'You think of something better then.'

Mugetsu scowled as he tried to think of a different excuse, but nothing came to mind, 'Damn it.'

"I…was…in a rush this morning…" He trailed off hoping sensei would catch on.

She smiled slightly –yep she'd caught on- "I see, make sure you wake up earlier next time."

Scowling, Mugetsu continued to his group and lined up behind Arata who'd just had his turn.

"Thanks for moving us out the way," He said as he turned to face Mugetsu.

"Don't worry about it, it was my fault anyway."

Arata raised an eyebrow, "I don't think you should be blaming yourself. Nori… he has a thing about people ignoring him. Probably something to do with being from a noble family, having loads of people run around after you can give you really low confidence," He said dryly and shrugged. "Maeda-sensei sent him to the principle after you left. He defiantly won't be practicing kido for a while, if you hadn't of done what you did it could've been pretty messy."

Mugetsu smirked, "So he won't be bothering us for a while? Good, I hate guys like him." Mugetsu clenched his fists, "Thinking they're better than everyone else just because of the family they were born into. Throwing his weight around and picking on the weak just because it makes him feel good about himself. But I guess they'll always be people like him," he relaxed and unclenched his fists, knowing there was no point in getting himself riled up over another Byakuya –although Byakuya had gotten slightly better after Mugetsu had almost killed him.

"You got that right Tamotsu," Arata agreed as the moved forwards. "Oh yeah, I just want to say that you've got one great shunpo. When you were pulling us away I could barely see anything clearly we were going so fast. How'd you pick it up so easily?"

Mugetsu thought for a second as he tried to come up with a valid reason, "I'm not sure, I don't think todays the first time I've used it though. I probably used it back up in 79th at some point."

Arata grinned, "Cool! You picked it up on your own? I've only ever heard of a few people who could do that."

'Nice blending in, now he defiantly thinks your some sort of super student –if he didn't already.' Mugetsu could tell that Arata was about to say something more but then his row was called up for their turn. As he watched the short boy have his turn Mugetsu tried to remember the incantation for the kido. After a few seconds of going over it Mugetsu could still barely remember the incantation, he scowled to himself as he tried to think of the last part.

The sound of explosions snapped Mugetsu out of his thinking as he looked up to see Arata's kido miss the wooden target by inches. He heard Arata let out a quiet curse about being so close before the boy turned around and walked to the back of the line, giving Mugetsu an encouraging smile as he did so.

"Good luck, Tamotsu."

With a sigh Mugetsu walked forward to take his position. Like everyone else he looked to his right, waiting for the signal form sensei that it was okay to start. When sensei nodded everyone turned back to face their targets and the chanting began. Following suit Mugetsu put his hands in front of him and chanted the words while remembering what Shizuko had said about his control.

Trying to put as little reiatsu as possible into his kido Mugetsu yelled, "Hado #1: Sho!"

Fortunately the kido didn't explode in his face –not to say that it wasn't over powered, which it was. Mugetsu pushed the kido away from him while attempting to send the almost uncontrollable kido exactly on target. The kido, which should've been only blue, was in fact also tainted with black –something that Maeda-sensei didn't fail to notice. It also managed to completely miss its target as it arced between two targets and collided with the wall behind, completely destroying it and making a giant hole.

Much to Mugetsu's displeasure there was another class on the other side of the wall, Kouki's class at that. Through the hole he could see Kouki who stood in front of a slightly surprised Kabexnuf whom was regarding Mugetsu with a calculative gaze. As he stared through the hole his eyes met Kouki's and the noble was instantly able to tell it was Mugetsu who made the hole. Kouki's mouth curved into a sly grin as he tried to hold back laughter and all Mugetsu could do was groan –he'd never hear the end of it from the crazy noble.

Mugetsu twitched as Kouki continued to grin at him, failing to notice that sensei was marching towards him. Everyone backed out her way like she was on a warpath and when she arrived in front of Mugetsu he expected her to rant furiously at him for being unable to control such a low level kido.

"Tamotsu!" She roared, "What in the name of Kami did you do to that spell?"

"Nothing! It just…. exploded," He replied as he tried –and failed- not to scowl.

"I can tell that it exploded! But why did it make a giant hole in my classroom wall?" Maeda-sensei growled pinching the bridge of her nose in frustration as she tried to calm down.

"I thought I made it as weak as possible!" Mugetsu protested, he'd been sure that it was the weakest he could do…unless he'd got something wrong…

Maeda-sensei raised an eyebrow, if that was his weakest then what was his strongest? She almost shivered with the thought, kami help them all if he ever used his strongest. "Are you sure you didn't mess with it Tamotsu?"

Mugetsu nodded.

"I hope for your sake what you say is true, now as punishment…" She thought for a second. "You will not be practicing anymore this lesson and I would like to talk to you at the end. In the meantime you will read the first chapter of the textbook we were looking at this morning and write it all out. If it's not done by the end of this lesson then I expect it on my desk tomorrow morning."

Mugetsu held back the urge to protest, which wasn't being helped by the fact that his hollow was cackling madly. Maeda-sensei turned and left, yelling to the rest of the class to continue with their kido practice while she put up a barrier to stop any stray kido going through and into the next class. As she did this Mugetsu went to the back, pulled out the text book and some other equipment before beginning to write the fifteen page long chapter –and there were few pictures.

Worry crept through Maeda-sensei's mind as she pondered of the fact that Tamotsu's kido had managed to make a hole in the barrier that had been put in front of the wall. It wasn't a high level barrier as this was a first year kido area and it was being replenished today, but regardless of that he still shouldn't have been able to break through it. Then there was also the fact that the barrier on the other side of the wall had received its own wound. A small crack –only a very small one- had formed on it but this barrier was much stronger because it had to contend with the 6th years. And even if this barrier was also being replenished that still didn't leave a reason as to how he'd managed to leave a crack in it. She'd have to talk to his other teachers about this; maybe they noticed something too.

~/~

**Beelzebub, Egyptian Underworld**

"Shit!" Beelzebub cursed as he ran as fast as he could from the army behind him. "That kid better be grateful!"

"Give it up Fallen!" Two animalistic voices growled from behind him, "There is no escape for you now!"

Beelzebub glanced behind him –a big mistake- to see Aker gaining on him along with the mass of underworld guardians. The twin lions that were Aker had their faces pulled into aggressive expressions as their red eyes glared at him, daring him to continue running from them.

"Are you sure about that Aker? I've heard there are some flaws in your security, after all if there weren't I wouldn't be here to begin with," Beelzebub taunted. When a twin roars of the now pissed lions echoed behind him he couldn't help but smirk in delight. However, the smirk soon faded from his lips as the heavy 'thumps' of paws grew closer to him.

"It's been so long since we've tasted a Fallen, you should be honoured that you'll be the first we've had in eons!" The lions chuckled, their voices sounding like they were right behind him.

Thinking quickly Beelzebub launched himself into the air with a hell-step and unfurled his big black wings. Beating them as quick as his possibly could Beelzebub rose high into the air, hoping to leave his pursuers far behind him. He checked behind him to see if anyone had managed to follow him only to see nothing but empty burnt skies and peaks of the golden Egyptian columns, which he casually avoided.

"Masterrrr!" A familiar girly voice squealed as Iris dropped from above, her little black wings flapping uncontrollably as she tried to keep herself up –which was not working.

Sighing Beelzebub's tense expression softened and he reached out and grabbed her, "Iris I thought I told you to stay back at home."

"I'm sorry!" She wailed, "I was worried that you wouldn't come back and that you'd leave me alone and…and I don't wanna be alone again. It makes me sad."

Ruffling her hair slightly Beelzebub spoke again, "You little faith wounds me Iris. You know I can take care of myself."

"We don't have any faith master," Iris commented confused.

"Everyone has some kind of faith Iris, it doesn't have to be for them," He growled the last part causing Iris to turn her head up and look at him.

"Does master still miss his old home?" She asked with a slight sadness in her eyes.

A wistful look crossed Beelzebub's features as he answered, "Everyone misses home Iris. No matter what they try to do to forget it, they'll always miss it. I'm no exception to that, no matter what they or I did."

"Would you go back if you could?" Her voice was serious and no longer the usual childlike one she used. Iris was a being that was older than she seemed. She'd been in hell for as long as Beelzebub could remember but the girl hadn't deserved it. She'd been sacrificed to the king of hell and would've suffered greatly because of it if he'd not made her his servant.

"I made my choice. They will never let me back."

"But if they let you?"

"They won't."

The two continued in silence for a few minutes before they heard the cries and growls of a mass of people behind them.

With a silent curse Beelzebub ordered Iris to turn into Mugetsu. Complying with the request the small girl morphed into the black-haired teen just as Beelzebub released some of Mugetsu's spiritual pressure from his snake band.

"Hold on Iris this is going to get rough," He whispered to the demon he was holding and increased his speed.

"Okay master," Iris giggled as they went faster.

~/~

**The Academy**

Mugetsu waved off Arata and Shizuko as they and the rest of the class left the kido field, leaving him to talk with sensei. He quickly put away the rest of his things, glancing at his timetable as he did so.

"Tamotsu," Maeda-sensei said and he looked up to see her standing a few feet away from him. "Are you sure you didn't do anything to that kido?"

"Yeah…"

"This is your last chance to say something, I know there was something wrong with that kido as its supposed to be blue. Not black."

"I did nothing to the kido, Maeda-sensei," Mugetsu assured her. It was true though; he'd done nothing to the kido.

She frowned, not believing him for a second, "Anyway that wasn't the only thing I wanted to talk to you about. I wanted to ask why Nori Hojo fired a kido at you; did you do something to provoke him?"

"Well…I…uh…attacked him this morning…." He admitted but added hastily, "Kouki Kuchiki stopped me though…"

"It's a good thing he did, why did you attack him?"

"He insulted the people I used to know that died…and I just…"

"Snapped?" Maeda-sensei supplied.

Mugetsu nodded.

She sighed, "How long have they been dead?" Surely if they'd been dead for as long as he said then he wouldn't be reacting like that. Maybe they hadn't been dead for as long as he said and there hadn't been any hollow attacks in the last year, was he lying?

"About one mont-" Mugetsu said without thinking. "I mean one year."

A month? There hadn't been any attacks that recently. But she went along with it, she'd find out sooner or later, "This may sound harsh Tamotsu, but the past is in the past. There was nothing you could've done to save them. You're not even a soul reaper so going against a hollow on your own would've been suicide."

He said nothing, but his face showed it all. She could see through the scowl he hid behind but decided not to push it any further. He'd probably had that speech repeated to him more than once by the looks of it.

"You should go, you're already late for your next class," She said and handed him a piece of paper. "Give this to your teacher so they don't yell at you for being late."

Mugetsu took the paper and muttered goodbye to sensei before leaving for his last set of classes before lunch.

~/~

When Mugetsu arrived at Zanjutsu he quickly gave the teacher the note and sat down next to Katsu and Hitmoi without a word. The purple haired boy gave Mugetsu a curious look before turning his attention back towards the teacher who was currently telling them about the different fighting stances.

Hitomi on the other hand began whispering to Mugetsu, "I didn't realise you were in our class. Nice to know I've got someone else apart from Mr. Grumpy over there," She inclined her head towards Katsu who gave her a scathing glance.

She giggled, "No need to be like that Katsu I was just telling Snowy here your nickname."

Katsu let out a silent snicker as Mugetsu twitched, "Snowy?"

"Well it was either that or Albino, and I heard from Arata that Nori keeps calling you that so I thought it'd be a bad idea," She shrugged.

Mugetsu merely groaned, mostly because his hollow had now decided to call him that instead of king.

'You know I really hate you.'

'Love you to snowy,' the hollow dissolved into cackles.

"You'll get used to it eventually," Katsu muttered to him as he faced the front of the class and resumed taking notes.

"Hey! I'm not an, 'it'," Hitomi protested quietly as she too wrote some notes.

"You're right, you're a 'thing'," Katsu snickered and Mugetsu joined him.

"You two are so mean," She pouted which made both boys laugh silently.

The two continued to jibe at each other throughout the lesson, with Mugetsu joining in every so often. Fortunately, the teacher who Mugetsu was sure heard the not so silent laughing that occurred didn't tell them off. Their laughing was cut off as the bell went, indicating them to all traverse to the Zanjutsu dojo where they were going to test the stances they'd been taught.

Luckily for Mugetsu Nori wasn't in his class, but that didn't mean some of the nobles friends weren't. Whenever he walked past them they would give him venomous glances and whisper things, which he wished he couldn't hear.

"-Murdered his family."

"Almost killed Nori!"

"He's crazy!"

"I can't believe they let him into the academy!"

The whispers varied in what they said but always pointed towards him being either crazy or a murderer, sometimes even both. Katsu and Hitomi told him to just ignore it and that they must have sad lives if all they could talk about was someone else's. Apart from that Mugetsu had no issues for the rest of the lesson, he sparred with Katsu, Hitomi and some of the others in his class and even pointed out a few improvements they could all make in their stances. Of course sensei noticed this and smiled to himself about how much potential this boy showed.

Katsu and Mugetsu were in the middle of a match when the bell went, and unfortunately for Katsu he stopped when he heard the ring, which allowed Mugetsu to sweep in and disarm him.

"OI!" He growled at Mugetsu realising what'd happened.

"Don't let your guard down, ," Mugetsu snickered as he backed off.

"Funny Tamotsu," He scowled and bent down to pick up his wooden sword. "You're really good though, but I guess it's not surprising seeing as you come from 79th."

"Yeah," Mugetsu agreed, "It was pretty rough up there."

"I guess we're lucky we didn't live up there," Katsu shrugged as they both put their swords away and went to collect their stuff.

"You have no idea," Mugetsu muttered to himself.

"You say something?" Katsu raised an eyebrow.

"Nothing," Mugetsu said with a slight smirk and walked to the exit to meet up with Hitomi.

"Come one you two! I'm starving! If I don't eat something soon I'm gonna die!" Hitomi complained dramatically, feigning that she was starved just to prove her point.

"I highly doubt that Hitomi," Katsu sighed as they set off for the canteen.

"How'd you know?"

"Because you had at least three times what the rest of us had this morning," Katsu rolled his eyes. "I'm surprised Tamotsu isn't complaining, he barely had time to eat."

Mugetsu shrugged, "It's not like I've done much today."

"What'd that supposed to mean? We've had Kido, Zanjutsu and Hoho!" Hitomi groaned before speeding up slightly.

"I fired one spell in Kido. As for the other two I'm used to doing things like that for ages without food."

"Why'd you only fire one spell in Kido?" Katsu asked this time.

"Because he blew a hole in the wall," Chuckled the familiar voice of Kouki who was came up behind them with his friends.

Katsu and Hitomi looked at Mugetsu for a second and then at Kouki who was trying to hold back his laughter. When they looked back at Mugetsu they both burst out laughing causing Mugetsu to twitch in annoyance.

"You…blew…a…hole…in…the…wall?" Katsu cackled, barely about to get the words out.

"I didn't mean to!" Mugetsu growled, making them laugh harder.

"So you really did?" A girl with black hair –Amaya?– asked. "I didn't believe Kouki when he told us what happened during Kido, apparently you cracked some of the shielding on the other side too…"

"Uh…yeah…I just put too much power into the Kido I guess…" Mugetsu shrugged.

"You guess?" Kouki chipped in, his laughing fit now over. "You can't accidentally put too much power into a Kido…well you can, but you'd know if you did."

"I thought I put in as little power as possible," Mugetsu sighed and turned to Hitomi, "Are we going to get food? I thought you were hungry."

"Oh yeah!" She grabbed Katsu by the collar, "Time to go Katsu!" As she began walking off Mugetsu turned back to Kouki while he too set off.

"I'll...uh...see you later maybe..." He waved to the noble and went to catch up with Hitomi.

~/~

**Beelzebub, Egyptian Underworld**

"Do you think we lost them Master?" Iris asked Beelzebub as they both currently sat in a run-down shack.

"I hope so…" Beelzebub trailed off, listening out for any indications their pursuers were back. He'd been escaping from the main castle after listening to a meeting between Shimi and Apophis in the dungeons when they'd spotted him. Shimi agreed to get the Royal Guard to set Apophis free if she would continue searching for Mugetsu in the Soul Society. Of course the chaotic god agreed without hesitation asking if she could kill some girl called Rukia afterwards, to which Shimi agreed to also. It was for this reason that he had to meet up with Mugetsu as soon as possible. If he didn't then there's no telling what would happen.

Beelzebub cursed.

"What's wrong Master?"

"Just thinking about that brat, he's only been there for two days and I'm going to end up ruining it for him."

"Just because you're warning him doesn't mean you're ruining it. You only want to keep him safe," The faux Mugetsu gave him an Iris smile when she finished speaking.

"Tch, he can keep himself safe Iris. He just needs some warning; I'm not going to be his body guard."

The demon gave him a knowing smile but didn't say anything as she studied the empty shack.

Hearing nothing outside Beelzebub got up, "Come on, it's time for us to go. We need to reach the edge of the city so I can open the portal."

"Why can't you open it here?" Iris asked confused.

"Arke. He's blocked all unauthorised portal openings inside the city," Beelzebub growled. "We should get there by midnight which will give us time to see Mugetsu while everyone's asleep."

Pulling his wings taut to his back Beelzebub held out his hand to Iris and the small demon accepted. When he'd pulled her up she quickly tried to hang from his shoulder –which wasn't going too well as she was the size of Mugetsu–but found that she couldn't.

"You'll have to fun alongside me unless we have to go into the air, you think you can manage a hell-step?" Beelzebub asked.

"I'll try Master…" she replied uncertain and Beelzebub ruffled her hair.

"If you can't then we'll just fly there."

"But-"

"Not buts, flying may get us seen but it is the quickest way if we can't go by foot," Beelzebub interrupted. "Okay kid?"

"Okay Master Beelzebub!" Iris said with a grin.

"Good, now let's go before it's too late."

As silently as they could they both exited the shack and out onto the empty sandy streets. The sky above was a whirling mass of orange and black, clearly night was setting fast but there was something else approaching. Something they would rather avoid. Without sparing a glance behind them they both took with a swirl of fire at their feet.

~/~

**The Academy**

"Kami, I'm stuffed!" Hitomi sighed as she sagged into her seat, everyone looking at her.

"What? Have I got something on my face?" She asked and when everyone started smirking –even Shizuko- she continued to babble, "I have haven't I? What is it? Some rice? Sauce? Egg? Come on guys what is it?" She turned to Mugetsu, "You'll tell me won't you Snowy?"

The smirk disappeared from Mugetsu's face, as it morphed into a twitch, "No."

"Awww, Why?" Hitomi whined.

"Because my name isn't Snowy!"

She giggled, "Sure it is. Snowy!"

Mugetsu growled and rolled his eyes, she was as bad as Rukia calling him Strawberry.

"So what was it all you guys were staring at?"

"A monster," Katsu said while he picked at his food.

"OH! How could you be so mean Mr. Grumpy?" Hitomi said feigning hurt.

"Easily."

Hitomi gave Katsu a glare before looking at Shizuko, "You'll tell me won't you Irisy?"

"Iris?" Mugetsu said thinking he'd heard that name somewhere before.

"Yeah, Iris! When we first met Shizuko was out picking Iris' in the woods and I suppose the nickname stuck," Hitomi shrugged. "Come on Irisy, you know you want to tell me. Do I have food on my face?"

"Uhmm…no," Shiuzko said with a slight smile.

"Seriously?" Shizuko nodded and Hitomi glared daggers at everyone, "You guys are so mean!"

Arata chuckled, "We never said you had anything on your face, that's just what you assumed."

"Then why were you all staring at me?"

They collectively sighed and indicated to the pile of plates that were lying in front of Hitomi.

"Ah…uh…well… I was hungry?"

Katsu gave her a blank look, "I didn't notice."

Hitomi flashed him a grin, "So what've we got next?"

"Hakuda, and you're with-" Arata was cut off by Hitomi.

"I'm with Snowy!" She squealed, "I'm going to take you down!" She gave Mugetsu a small smile.

"You sure you want to challenge Tamotsu so far he seems to be undefeatable, well unless it's Kido," Arata smirked causing Mugetsu to twitch slightly.

"You won't be saying that when I beat your ass with Kido," He smirked back.

"If you can actually fire and aim a spell then I'll accept your challenge," Arata said.

"Fi-" Mugetsu stopped himself; if he managed to control a Kido it would probably be too powerful for Arata to handle. He couldn't have a match with him, "No."

"Okay then let's have it next- Wait, what?" Arata along with the others –apart from Shizuko- gave him a look of confusion.

"I can't," He put simply.

"Why? Are you-" Arata began but was interrupted –much to everyone's surprise- by Shizuko.

"He's right," She said as she tore her eyes away from Mugetsu and to Arata and the others. "You know what happened in lesson today. Imagine if you were on the receiving end of it Arata."

"Ouch," Hitomi cringed. "You'd get fried, literally." She turned back to Mugetsu, "Show how about that Hakuda match? No Kido involved."

Mugetsu groaned but decided that she could be more of challenge that he may think; after all he'd learnt –thanks to Urahara- not to judge on appearances, "Sure. But I won't go easy on you," He smirked.

"I didn't count on it."

Katsu snorted, "Save the fighting talk for the practical lesson. We've got theory first."

"You're in our class too?" Hitomi asked.

"Yeah, I told you this morning. Idiot," Katsu sighed.

The rest of their lunchtime flew by with little disruption as the only disruption was the whispers that followed Mugetsu around the campus –rumours travel fast? Regardless, Mugetsu managed to bump into Kouki for a few minutes at the end of lunch. Fortunately for him the noble was without his entourage and the two had time for a brief conversation before he was pulled away by Hitomi who wanted to get to class, hoping it would make their match arrive quicker. It didn't. Mugetsu spent what felt forever waiting outside the theory classroom.

When the teacher arrived Mugetsu recognised him as the guy who'd tested his Hakuda skills at the initiation test. Ryo asked everyone to refer to him as Fukui-Sensei before spending the whole theory lesson giving them the run down on a few basic techniques. Like in Zanjutsu and Hoho Mugetsu tried to hide his boredom, he knew that he may be able to learn something new from the tradition ways but that didn't stop it from being tedious. Also, because it was the end of the day it was proving difficult and Fukui-Sensei tried to pick on this.

Whenever he thought that Mugetsu had dozed off he would ask him a question to which he knew Mugetsu wouldn't have been able to answer unless he wasn't asleep. Although Mugetsu still managed to answer, just not with the answer Fukui-Sensei would've expected. As the lesson came to a close Fukui-Sensei was left wondering to what extent Mugetsu's combat knowledge went to. Even a few of his classmates became more wary of him except Hitomi and Katsu, which he found out as he and Hitomi were about to begin their match.

"You better not disappoint me Snowy, all that stuff you said in class got my hopes up that you might be decent." Hitomi gave Mugetsu a quick grin as the both took their stances –Mugetsu's slightly different to Hitomi's. She raised an eyebrow at this wondering why he wasn't using the one in the textbook but shrugged it off.

"Good luck Hitomi," Mugetsu smirked. "You're going to need it."

With the indication from sensei that they could start, Mugetsu and Hitomi both charged at each other. They both attempted a punch at each other but both blocked each other, what continued next was a flurry of punches and blocks. Mugetsu gave her some credit, she was fast but he could go faster and picking up his speed he blocked one of her punches. Then while sending her one of his own he moved offline and sent a toned down kick into her side. The kick connected with her side while the punch to the gut she barely managed to block and she recovered quickly in order to send her own kick at Mugetsu. Had it been anyone else in the class the manoeuvre could've worked but Mugetsu battle hardened instincts allowed him to find a way around her attack and use it against her.

When her foot came within close proximity to him he grabbed it while moved out the way and using his other hand to grab her collar he swept her remaining foot out from under her. The movement sent Hitomi crashing to the floor with Mugetsu standing above her, waiting for her yield.

A smile crept onto her face, "I yield. That was an amazing match Snowy-" She stopped and considered her position, "I mean Tamotsu, but anyway maybe we can have another match next time?"

"Sure," Mugetsu grinned as he pulled her up. "Maybe you'll put up more of a fight next time."

"Yep, you haven't seen the best of me yet," Hitomi replied confidently while she walked back to the benches. Mugetsu would've followed her had Fukui-Sensei not called out to him and asked him to see how long he could keep up a winning streak. He tried to decline but his protests fell on deaf ears and he was left fighting almost everyone for the remainder of the lesson. A few got close to wearing down Mugetsu's limit he'd decided to put on himself –to prevent more attention- but none got as close as Hitomi.

Katsu had been his final opponent and he'd noticed that Mugetsu was beginning to tire from the continued matches –but only slightly. And although Katsu managed to put up almost as good of a fight as Hitomi he still failed to win against Mugetsu.

From the side-lines Fukui-Sensei's brow creased in puzzlement, how could he still stand? The kid –Tamotsu- had been going at it for the whole lesson, he'd expected him to drop out after at least two matches but his prediction had been proved wrong. Maybe he should see what the others thought of this, the day he'd applied no one had been able to forget the sheer amount of skill he'd shown. Most –if not all- first years normally didn't start to show any signs of skill until at the least the third lesson. But because this was the advanced, all of these pupils should've been a decent match for the boy; interesting. There were others that had promising potential, which made Ryo smile; the years teaching these kids were going to be very exciting.

* * *

><p>Hell-step - I bet you can all guess what this is. It's so imaginative isn't it? XD (Shunpo)<p>

OC's this week:

**Name:**Arata

**Species:**Soul/Plus

**Pantheon:**Japanese

**Strenghts:** Kido and Zanjutsu

**Weakness':** Hoho and Hakuda

**Personality:**Cautious, Inquisitive, Equally knowledgeable in most subjects, Can have a short temper

.

**Name:**Shizuko

**Species:**Soul/Plus

**Pantheon:**Japanese

**Strenghts:** Kido and Hoho

**Weakness':** Zanjustu and Hakuda

**Personality:**Timid, Inquisitive(slightly), Empathetic, Knowledgeable in soul society history, Kind

Next time: Extracurricular Activities


	36. Extracurricular Activities

I apologise for my rantyish authors note, but I thought you guys deserved to know why I wasn't updating. And thanks for all the encouraging reviews, I didn't expect it and I really appreciate it, guess I should have more faith in my work and my readers…aha…

Anyway here's the long awaited next chapter, hope you guys all enjoy it…and it kinda turned out longer than I expected…

Thanks to plainpain for beta reading.

I own none of the rights to Bleach, those go to Tite Kubo.

'**Shiro'**

'Tensa

Extracurricular Activities

* * *

><p>After Hakuda had finished, Mugetsu left Katsu and Hitmoi and returned to his room. Hitmoi had protested asking why he didn't want to go with them, but he reminded them that he had to finish copying out the Kido work and he was tired from the lesson –which was slightly true. So here he was, sitting at his desk in his room and copying out the first chapter of the Kido book while trying not to fall asleep from boredom. He was about three-quarters of the way through and only had a few more pages to copy out which would take about fifteen minutes.<p>

The stuff he was copying out all seemed to be useless -apart from a few bits- as it was about things such as "Don't use Kido on fellow soul reapers". Mugetsu snorted at this one, wasn't it obvious not to harm your teammates? And then there was "Why more power isn't always best"; he could see the sense in that one but what about the times when it was the only way? You couldn't simply out manoeuvre an enemy if they were so much stronger than you. He'd learnt that the hard way. Byakuya when they'd first met and then Grimmjow, Ulquiorra, Aizen and then Gin, but that was barely scratching the surface. So what would you do in a situation like that? He'd died battling Ulquiorra because he hadn't been strong enough…and then that had led to… no. He wouldn't think about it, he had to keep his head above the water as much as he just wanted to let it consume him. All the despair and loss he felt constantly threatened to smother him but he knew that everyone was counting on him to stop Shimi.

Gritting his teeth Mugetsu spent the next fifteen minutes copying up the remainder of the chapter, which led to him finishing at five o'clock. With that now out of the way he checked his bag to see if there were any other assignments from his other classes and to his dismay he found that they'd all set work. So, letting out an annoyed groan Mugetsu got to work on the rest of his assignments and preceded to spend the next two hours completing it all.

~/~

**Beelzebub, Egyptian Underworld, Edge of the city**

They were both tired and both sporting a few cuts and grazes from the battle they'd had in the air with the eagle guardians, which had been called out to deal with him. Iris' illusion was beginning to fail and they had to make it out soon. They'd reached the edge of the city and Beelzebub was catching his breath before summoning the portal. The image of Mugetsu that was Iris was torn up in places, just like the child below would be. Cuts laced the arms dripping black blood to the floor as the face of Mugetsu was twisted in pain, occasionally flickering back to Iris'. Beelzebub wasn't much better off as cuts were also scattered around his body with a few places turned to charcoal where he's been hit by a lightening spell. His wings hadn't escaped damage either with feathers missing in places and the bone of the top arch peeking through underneath the dark mass of feathers. Black feathers that remained attached to his wing were coated in sticky dark red blood that was likely leaving a sent trail for their pursuers.

Not letting the pain get to him Beelzebub stretched his arms out in front of him and began calling his power to his hands. Purple fire wrapped down his shredded arms and collected in a small controlled ball in his hands. Not taking his eyes off the power that would spiral out of control if he didn't concentrate enough Beelzebub called to Iris, "Iris weave the Trace-Repel ward!"

"Yes Master!" She called back and a few seconds later Beelzebub felt the familiar feeling of Iris' power dispel around the area.

"Sanguis Bibimus, Corpus Edimus, Educ porta mundos!" Beelzebub rumbled in Latin as he pushed the fire in his hands forwards. When it was a metre in front of the Fallen the flaming ball spiked in all directions before it began to spin in the air, gradually growing and becoming flatter as it did so. Behind it an Arch appeared out the ground with writing in Latin craved all over it and at the top was the craving of a fly, something that defined it as his personal gate. He hated the link people gave him to flies, but there was little he could do to rectify that. It was what his name meant and given his history he deserved the name and its meaning. Why was he changing his colours now? Because he was bored with all the coaxing people to their doom, it was too easy. Humans were now so easily manipulated he pitied them. He also wanted a purpose. Willing Humans to give into their temptations was a purpose of a kind and he liked working under Lucifer but it was all becoming fickle. He wasn't even sure their almighty leader was that sure of his cause anymore, truly all he wanted to do was have his battle with Michael.

Beelzebub was snapped out of his musings when the fiery gate was no longer making any noise apart from a quiet crackle of the flames. He stared at the fire for a few moments remembering how it used to feel so warm and welcoming. But now? It left him cold with the memory that he'd become a Fallen over a rash decision. One that he'd been regretting for the past century, or maybe longer. Time passed so quick for him that he barely noticed and he'd spent much of the past centuries looking for a way to regain his purity but so far he'd found nothing. He and his kind were stuck as they were for the rest of their long lives.

"Master?" Iris called cutting through his thoughts.

"Yes, sorry Iris. I was…thinking again," Beelzebub murmured blinking away the wistfulness in his eyes. Turning to his servant he indicated for her to step in before him, "Time to go Iris. We haven't got long; Apophis may already be there. It will only take her a day or two to locate Mugetsu –especially with her ability- and we want to try keep him hidden for as long as possible. Or at least until Ananke comes up with a solution because right now all I can think of is killing Shimi, but that won't be easy."

With a nod of agreement from Iris, the illusionist demon walked into the fiery gateway without hesitation and was shortly followed by her Master.

~/~

**Academy, Mugetsu, 8:00pm**

Mugetsu was sat out on the grass around the tree that Kouki usual sat in. However, the faux albino wasn't alone. Arata, Shizuko, Hitomi and Katsu were all sprawled out around him doing their homework while Kabexnuf –much to Mugetsu's surprise- was sitting up in the tree whizzing through his own work. Hitomi had tried to pry some help out of the Egyptian but he simply said 'No' or just ignored her leaving her to bug Mugetsu for answers.

"Come on Tamotsu, you know you want to help me," She pleaded as the albino in question continued to chew on some food they'd all saved him from dinner.

"No, you won't learn if I tell you the answers," he repeated for the third time before taking a bite out of his last Onigiri.

"But I got you that food, at least give me a hint or something I'm completely stuck on the Zanjustsu homework!" Hitomi let out a frustrated sigh at her paper and scribbled out something she'd been writing.

"Which part?"

Hitomi's face lit up, "You're going to help me?"

"I might, now what part?" Mugetsu said with a half-smile.

"Well you know the part about the 'Hitotsume: Nadegiri' technique, I know it's good to use against targets with tough skin. I just don't know why," She explained tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear.

"What do you need to break through things that are tough?" He asked, trying to coax the answer from her.

"A lot of power."

"And when holding a Zanpakuto…" he trailed off leaving her to connect the dots.

"You put all your power into your blade? Then what?" Hitomi thought for a second then her eyes widened in understanding, "you send it through your blade and then through the air which hits the enemy with a huge wave of reiatsu?"

Mugetsu nodded and decided to add something to her conclusion, "One bad thing about using this technique is that a soul reaper with little spiritual power will be exhausted afterwards."

"Really? I guess that makes sense, putting lots of your power into one swing can be tiring especially if you don't have much to begin with…" Hitomi mused as she began writing down her answer. The others were quiet as they scribbled down answers to their work, which they –apart from Kabexnuf- had been doing for the past hour when Mugetsu had joined them at seven. Everyone looked like they were going to finish soon as Arata sat up and closed his book.

"Finished," he announced with a grin then looked over at Mugetsu, "how come it took you so long?"

Mugetsu shrugged, "maybe because I'm in the top class for everything, I guess that's probably it."

"Humm, yeah." Arata started putting his work back into his bag before stopping suddenly as if he'd just realised something, "Tamotsu, shouldn't you be delivering that extra work to Maeda-sensei?"

His eyes widened slightly in realisation before his face set back into a prominent scowl, "Damn it. I best go give it to her now, I'll be back in a second!"

Mugetsu quickly scooped us his bag, mentally berating himself for forgetting to give in the work. With a quick glance at the map he decided to head to the first-year staff room to find Maeda-sensei.

~/~

**First-Year Staff Room, 7:55pm**

Mi Maeda wondered up one of the corridors in the central block and towards the staff room where she hoped to get some relaxation before going back to her office for the night. As one of the organisers for the visit that would be occurring in two weeks she had a lot to organise. Such as thinking of events for different classes, who would show them around and how best to show that Japan wasn't lacking in skill when it came to fighting. But they also had to prove they were making technological advances too, but that would be left to the 6th year science students. Thankfully Mi had a few ideas when it came to showing skill, a few older students had caught her attention in kido as well as three of four first years.

When the door to the staffroom came within reach Mi brought herself out of her thoughts and pushed the door open. She glanced around the room expecting to see it filled with teachers wanted to relax but there were only three others. Three she knew very well.

Grinning Mi greeted her long-time friends, "Aika! Ryo! Eiji!"

A woman who looked like she was in her thirties glanced up at Mi from her lounged position on one of the mats on the floor, "Mi. Still as energetic as usual, even after a full day of lessons."

"I wouldn't say energetic…" Mi trailed off as she walked to one of the wooden counters to get a cup of tea.

"Could've fooled me," Eiji –an old looking man with short black hair- called as he sat in a meditating position with his zanpakuto on his lap, one brown eye open as he spoke to her.

"And me," Ryo –the youngest of the three- agreed as he ran a hand through his brown hair while he looked down at a stack of paper, boredom stark on his face.

Raising an eyebrow Mi asked, "Where's everyone else?"

"Where'd you think?" Ryo grumbled indicating to the paperwork, "With that visit in two weeks there's so much to do and everyone's getting a piece of it. Through probably not as much as you."

"Why aren't you lot off doing the mass of paper work?" Mi asked curious, maybe they wanted to talk with her for the same reason she wanted to talk with them. After all they would've all had Tamotsu today as they all took the top classes.

"I wanted to ask you all about a student I had today," Aika admitted then looked at Eiji and Ryo, "Not sure about these two, haven't asked them yet."

"Eiji?" Mi called to the Zanjutsu teacher who now had both of his wise brown eyes open.

"A student," He replied simply.

"Ryo?"

"Same. And if we're all talking about the same guy then I've got to say, he's unstoppable," Ryo said looking more alert now than he was a few seconds ago.

"Yes, the boy called Tamotsu Sato," Aika nodded her hazel eyes closed as she thought about the lesson she'd had with him. He'd easily picked up the technique of a short ranged flash-step she'd been teaching them, almost too quickly. The way he used it looked too perfect, no signs that he was a beginner at all. She hadn't asked him about it, as she doubted the boy would give her a truthful answer.

"What'd he do in your lesson Aika?" Ryo asked eagerly, taking any distraction he could get so long as it meant not doing his paperwork.

"Nothing wrong, more so that he did everything exactly right," she replied emphasising the 'exactly'. "At the beginning of the practical session he struggled for about five minutes just like everyone else. But he didn't appear to be genuinely stuck; to me it looked like he was pretending to struggle. It wasn't the ability that tipped me off –as I've seen Nobles better than his attempt at being terrible- but the movement. It was too forced and not natural. Everyone else in the class had a natural movement to their flash-step they were attempting to do, he didn't."

"So he tried to dumb himself down, so what? He probably didn't want people to think he was showing off," Ryo commented. "Maybe you're overeating about his Hoho abilities."

"I wasn't finished yet Ryo," Aika sighed –used to the interruptions of Ryo- and then continued. "When I was satisfied with everyone's attempt I brought them in to play a game, just as I usually do."

"What game was it this time? Just the normal tag or something more exciting? Like Collectors or-" Ryo cut in but was cut off by Eiji.

"Let the woman finish Ryo," Eiji said with a slight chuckle and Aika continued again.

"It was Collectors this time. I thought that considering how quickly Tamotsu had picked it up he needed a challenge. At first I put him in the 'Runner' team and had two students on the 'Collector' team –Shizuko and Nori. It took the pair about ten minutes to catch all their fellow students apart from one, Tamotsu. Since the beginning of the game he'd kept up a steady speed that was slightly faster than the Collectors, it changed when he realised he was the last one. He got slower, although none of the others noticed apart from me but he did get slower and started to make a few mistakes. A few minutes after becoming the last one he was caught by Shizuko, who I must say is excellent at her flash-step," Aika explained. "We had another match afterwards which I put Tamotsu and Juro –the worst in the class- as the Collectors as I hoped he would pick up some of Tamotsu's techniques. There was a slight improvement with Juro but what shocked me the most was that it only took them both seven minutes to get everyone, and Tamotsu did most of the work. It did appear however, that Tamotsu tried to stretch it out for longer."

Everyone was silent when Aika finished explaining as they all let it sink in. Comparing it to what they'd seen in class from this prodigal student. It was Ryo who spoke first clearly proud but worried about this new student.

"It was a similar thing with my class, he looked like he was holding back. He was too tense and he had a different way of fight to what I'd told them, as if someone else had taught him before me." Ryo said shaking his head in disbelief, "I'm sure it when the same for you two?" He looked at Mi and Eiji who both nodded, "That's scary, I mean it's good he's got so much potential but-"

There was a knock at the door which mad everyone freeze, they weren't sure why but it felt as if the conversation they were having was tabooed. Unless it had something to do with who could be on the other side of the door. It was obviously a student, but they hoped it wasn't the student they hadn't just been discussing.

Acting like normal Mi strolled over to the thick wooden door and pulled it open while everyone else went back to doing what they were doing earlier. When she pulled the door open she almost had a heart attack when she found it was the very boy they'd just been talking at her. A scowl was on his face as he bowed slightly to her and pulled out a few sheets of paper from his bag.

"The work you set me Sensei," He said holding it out for her to take.

Realising it was the work she'd set as punishment, Mi took the papers off him and quickly flicked through them ensuring it was all there. Happy it was all there she looked back up at the albino student, "You didn't have to finish it for tonight Tamotsu, you could've given it to me in the morning."

He shrugged, "I was doing the rest of my work so I did that as well."

"Well thank you for getting it done so quickly," She said trying not to show her surprise at his casualness towards her.

"No problem," He said pushing a hand back through his white hair. "Well I...uh best be going. See you in class tomorrow Sensei."

"Goodbye, Tamotsu," Mi gave the retreating boy a small wave before turning back into the staffroom, closing the door behind her.

"Was that him?" Akia asked, noticing the slightly shocked expression on her face.

Mi nodded, "He came to deliver me the work I set him as punishment, but I told him he could give it to me in the morning. He must've forgotten."

"Punishment? For what?" Eiji asked having not heard the story that had been floating around the Academy.

"You haven't heard?" Ryo grinned when Eiji shook his head; "Tamotsu blew a hole in her Kido field and broke though almost two barriers, the second being the one for 6th years."

Both Eiji's black eyebrows rose in surprise, "He did? That is just unthinkable, he must have monstrous amounts of power!"

"That's not the half of it," Mi mumbled with a faint fearfulness to her voice. "He claimed that he made it as weak as possible, if that wasn't his strongest then I don't want to see what is."

"Wooo…" Ryo whistled. "I don't want to get on the bad side of him."

"I don't think anyone in their right mind would want to," Aika agreed shaking her head in disbelief. How could a first-year be so powerful? Had he just been created like that or was there something more to his power? She hoped it was the former, if it was the latter then they might be contending with something that was beyond them.

"So what shall we do now?" Ryo asked now with an edge to his voice also.

"We won't do anything," Mi decided. "We'll just act like normal and keep an eye on him. We can't say anything for defiant after one day. Give him a week or two and maybe we'll have more of an idea of what's going on."

"We should keep a collective list of things we discover," Eiji murmured as he got up and sheathed his zanpakuto. Setting the blade down gently he walked over to one of the counters near Ryo and pulled out some paper and writing equipment. He set the blank paper down on top of the counter and began writing on it. After a few seconds he looked back up at the others.

"What're you all waiting for?" He said with a slight smile, "He's a mystery to be solved and we've been needed some excitement around here."

With similar smiles spreading across everyone else's faces they all congregated around the paper and began dictating to Eiji what they all knew –that was strange- about Tamotsu. The more they wrote down the more it became apparent that Tamotsu was clearly hiding something and by the end of it the list read:

_Tamotsu Sato:_

_Experienced in all arts, possibly not so much with Kido_

_Monstrous power_

_Wears strange bracelets, sentimental reasons or other?_

_Almost admitted to family dying in hollow attack six months ago, there was no attack._

_Short temper when dead family is mentioned, thinks it's his fault? Rumours circulated that he killed them._

_Shrugs off pain, burn from Nori almost burnt him to the bone. Didn't look like it when he came back to class, regeneration?_

_Often gets a faraway look in his eyes, as if talking to something, Zanpakuto or just reminiscing about past events?_

_Black cloth under clothes, what is it? Not PJ's._

"Now that I look at it all he does seem like a strange kid," Ryo said as he read over the list, the others murmuring in agreement. "You sure about the black cloth? Maybe he just didn't have time to take it off."

"I doubt it, it takes a second to remove them and these were different. They rippled around his burnt leg, as if being blown by the wind. Only there wasn't any wind," Mi clarified. She'd gone along with his excuse at the time knowing –like the others- that if she were to ask she wouldn't get a straight answer from him. He seemed like the type to evade questions.

"Maybe it enhances his spiritual pressure?" Eiji suggested.

"What makes you say that E?" Aika asked while Mi thought over what Eiji was implying. The boys spiritual pressure was strange, they'd all felt something off with it, like it wasn't natural. Then there was the power she'd witnessed during kido. It defiantly wasn't normal for a first-year, and she'd never meet anyone who would affect the colour of a kido. Yet this boy had.

"It would be a logical explanation for the boys huge amount of power also I heard a rumour about the colour of his kido," Eiji said looking at Mi with a knowing smile. The others followed his gaze and locked onto Mi.

"Mi?" Aika and Ryo said in unison having not heard about the colour of Tamotsus kido.

"It was black," Mi said with a frown. "The kido he fired was slightly black which I guess would be explained if he was somehow using that black material to enhance his powers."

Aika froze for a second and then ran her hand through her short black hair, messing it up slightly on one side before she spoke, "I wonder why a student would do something like that. It doesn't make sense, being the most powerful doesn't always make you the best, especially if you can't control that power."

"Maybe he felt the need after all those he loved died," Ryo suggested with a slight shrug. "I mean if any of you guys died and I had the chance to gain lots of power so I would be able to protect those left that mattered to me, I'd take it."

"He is a strange on…" Eiji concluded. None of them could precisely pin point the boy's motives nor his origins, but that was how things were when people lived in the slums of the Soul Society. The conversation about Tamotsu didn't last much longer, but it could've. Everything about him seemed out of place, the bands he wore, the way he acted, the power he had and so much more. But why did they notice him out of all the other students? There was something about him that drew others towards him, was it his character? His power? Or was it something else? So many unanswered questions whirled around the minds of Mugetsu's teachers leaving them more and more curious about this new student than ever.

~/~

**Mugetsu, Dorm Room, 10:30pm**

"Time for lights out Tamotsu," Arata murmured sleepily from his bed waving his hand in the direction of the light.

The two had returned from under the tree only thirty minutes ago after spending hours with the others. Kouki had joined them along with his friends and they'd all spent time getting to know each other, although everyone knew Mugetsu thanks to his kido. At first they were slightly scared because of the other rumours going around the school but after being assured by both Mugetsu and Kouki that he wasn't a mass murderer they all relaxed. The rest of the time had flashed by and after a little coaxing the Egyptian transfer had joined them too. Mugetsu had found himself enjoying it, which surprised him slightly considering how much he'd lost, but he didn't fight it. He relished in the time he spent with his new friends, sure he missed the others but there wasn't anything he could do about that now as Shiro and Tensa kept reminding him. When it'd gotten late everyone'd made their way to their dorms and Arata had more or less collapsed onto his bed when they arrived. He'd spoken to Mugetsu for a little longer by mumbling into his pillow before finally giving in at the time lights when out. Why he forced himself to stay up was beyond Mugetsu.

"Sure," Mugetsu said and noticed that Arata had already fallen asleep by the time he'd reached the light. "Today must've really taken it out of you, eh?" Mugetsu muttered to the sleeping form of Arata for no reason in particular. A soft snore escaped Arata and Mugetsu was just about to blow out the light, which was stationed between their desks when a tap at the window made him jump. Looking up he saw the face of himself covered in blood peering back at him.

He almost let out a startled yell but when he saw the face off Beelzebub appear next to it he realised that it was probably Iris. On the way to the Academy Beelzebub had told him that Iris was an illusionist so seeing the Fallen appear next to the image of his bloody face assured him that it was Iris, and not himself hallucinating. He snapped out of his thoughts when Beelzebub lifted a red finger and pointed to the window latch. With a quick glance behind him to ensure that Arata was still asleep –which he was- Mugetsu scowled at the pair outside his window and quietly pulled the window open.

"What the hell are you doing here?" He hissed at them quietly, cutting himself off afterwards when he saw their appearance. They were covered in blood, which was still slowly welling out of their wounds and dripping onto the floor. Scratches decorated their bodies along with fierce burns that peeled away some of their flesh. Mugetsu couldn't say anymore and was even more shocked when Iris dropped the illusion and he saw how torn up her real body was. Rage filled Mugetsu, he wasn't sure why but it did. Although it was probably because she looked so young and it was almost like seeing his sisters torn up in front of him. As if the first hollow attack on his family had gone a step further. After a few seconds of nothing but the sounds of blood dripping to the floor, a small puddle of black and dark red had formed beneath the two with a feather or two floating on the surface.

"Who did this?" Mugetsu almost growled not taking his eyes of Iris.

Beelzebub pulled a chair out from Mugetsus desk and set it down in front of Iris before grabbing Arata's for himself both placed themselves on the edge of the clean wooden chairs. "We ran into a spot of trouble, nothing we couldn't handle," Beelzebub said coldly.

"Tch, it looks like you could handle it," Mugetsu replied dryly glancing between the two. "So what brings you back?"

Beelzebub glanced around the room his eyes setting on Arata, flashing with recognition when he realised they'd meet before, "It must be a small world if he's your roommate." He looked at Iris, "you got enough juice for one last spell?" When she nodded he pointed to Arata, "make sure he won't bother us for an hour or two."

With another nod the small girl began chanting weakly in a language Mugetsu wasn't familiar with and before he could protest she'd finished, a gentle red glow settling around Arata as she did.

"What did you do to him?" Mugetsu asked, slightly annoyed.

"Just put a sleeping spell on him for about an hour so we don't disturb him and he sees us," Beelzebub stated simply, stopping what he was about to say next when Iris began to sway forwards. Stretching out his bloodied arm he stopped her from falling to the floor before getting up and slowly placing her there himself. "Iris?"

"I'm fine master, just very tired…" she sighed as the blood loss finally caught up with her. Her red eyes flickered open as shut as she tried not to drift away. The bleeding from her small form began to slow, not just because of clotting but because there was nothing more to bleed. Beelzebub too almost collapsed but stayed up speaking quickly in the language Iris had been speaking a second ago. A purple glow illuminated the two and a few of their wounds began to heal slightly.

When the glow dimmed down Beelzebub collapsed next to Iris in exhaustion and gave Mugetsu a half smile as he looked over at Iris who appeared to be sleeping.

"I thought we'd have more time until the transition caught up with us," He growled. Seeing Mugetsus confused look he began to explain his voice slightly weaker than before, "when you move from one pantheons afterlife to another's there's a catch-up, because while it might be ten over in my place it could be elven over here. Those times aren't accurate so don't bitch at me about it, the point is that humans get 'jet lag' when they travel to places via plane. This is something similar, it's to make it more difficult for prisoners to escape."

"You two are going to be okay right?" Mugetsu asked eyeing up the rest of their wounds that hadn't sealed up.

"Something like this take me down?" Beelzebub let out a hash laugh, "No chance, I was prepared for this, had a rune implanted into my arm to heal up the majority of our wounds. Only downside is that is sucks the fuckin' life out of me, so I'm not going to be able to stay awake much longer."

Mugetsus brows knitted together in confusion, "What the hell's a Rune?"

"No time to explain, Apophis is on her way to find you, that's why we're here," Beelzebub said quickly his voice becoming quieter. "Shit! Look we'll talk when we wake up, then we'll decide what to do from there. Clean up the blood! We'll talk later!"

Mugetsu scowled down as the Fallen fell asleep on the floor leaving him to clear up his mess. His eyebrows twitched in annoyance, why did all this happen to him? He hoped that Arata didn't wake up, he'd probably recognise Beelzebub as it wasn't like he was easy to forget. He cursed again as he looked around the room for something to clean up the blood with and found nothing, the only other thing would be to use his Rukongia clothes and probably a set of Academy uniform, just what would he do with it afterwards.

'Deal with that when it happens Ichigo, just get rid of that blood!'

'Fine, don't bite my head off about it. I was just about to!'

Grumbling silently all the way Mugetsu pulled out the Rukongai clothes and began wiping up the stick and sulphur smelling blood. When he'd wiped up most of it he grabbed a spare Academy uniform and using some water from a glass on his desk began to scrub up the rest. It was tough work but after about fifteen minutes Mugetsu was pretty sure he'd gotten all of the blood. And realising that it was gone half past ten he hoped that no one would wonder in to tell him to turn in for the night. With a quick look around the room and at the new additions he noticed he could still smell the tang of their blood in the air. He then looked at the still open window and decided it was best to leave it open and pray that the smell would be gone by morning, if not then he'd have to play dumb with Arata.

One last slightly pissed off glance at the gatecrashers, Mugetsu threw the bloody clothes under his bed and got changed. He walked back over to the desk and blew out the light before carefully making his way back to his bed and flopping down on it. Exhaustion catching up with him after what felt like a very long day, and from what Beelzebub just told him it wasn't about to get better. How was Apophis going to find him? There was no way she'd know he was here, but she'd surely find a way to lure him out and he'd have to go get her himself. Before that happened.

Clenching his fist while he shifted onto his side Mugetsu knew he had to get her back for what she did to Rukia. The anger he'd felt from that day was still there, along with the hopelessness that he hadn't been able to protect her. He needed to make up for that. To make sure that Apophis didn't hurt anyone any more. And with that final thought Mugetsu closed his tired brown eyes and fell into a sleep that would be far from restful. As the nightmare that had begun the night before was just about to get much worse.

* * *

><p>Translations:<p>

Sanguis Bibimus – We drink the blood

Corpus Edimus – We eat the body

Educ porta mundos - Bring forth the gate of worlds


	37. Blood Tracker

Sorry this took so long to get out guys, couldn't think of what to write, kinda. Anyway on with the chapter.

Thanks to plainpain for Beta reading.

I own none of the rights to Bleach, those go to Tite Kubo.

'**Shiro'**

'Tensa

Blood Tracker

* * *

><p><strong>Mugetsu, Soul Reaper Academy<strong>

Mugetsu looked down at the familiar chair he was currently bound to. A chill ran up his spine as he realised what would happen next. He was back in the dream, which picked on all his fears and what he blamed himself for. He looked around the dark room hoping to catch a glimpse of his tormentor to be, only to find nothing.

Gritting his teeth, Mugetsu tugged at his bonds knowing he needed to beat this nightmare. He wouldn't let it drag him down anymore. All his friends were fine, they were alive and he'd make sure nothing happened to them. They had him and his past self to protect them and that would be enough. And as soon as Shimi was dealt with everything would be back to normal, and he'd….Remain friends with them as Mugetsu.

With increased resolve he pulled and tugged at his bonds. They felt like leather as they rubbed into his skin, drawing blood that he barely noticed. He felt them loosen and grinned in victory, but that grin soon went.

The slackened ropes retightened themselves and a high pitched laugh echoed around him. It didn't sound like Ishida, the pitch was much too high for the Quincy. The cruel twisted laugh quietened down leaving small echoes around him as a figure appeared from the shadows in front of him.

Orihime.

Or what was left of her.

Her body was burnt and void of most of its skin. Half her face and an arm was all Mugetsu could see that kept its skin, the rest was covered by a simple clean white robe to protect her modesty. Her usual pretty face was decorated with cuts and remained unframed by any burnt-orange hair. The skin that clung to her was extremely white, and allowed her now dark brown eyes to stand out even more as they glared at him.

"_Kurosaki-kun!"_ Ghost Orihime mocked in a hollow version of the real Orihime's happy voice. Mugetsu stared up at her, not wanting to believe that he'd done that to her, but knowing he had. He shut his eyes and tried to banish the nightmare away, but it was to no avail. He was stuck here until someone on the outside woke him up, and when that would happen he was unsure.

Her face twisted into that of disgust as she spat the next words as Mugetsu, _"How disgusting, I can't believe I used to trust you. You killed me!" _She screamed, _"Weren't you there to rescue me? I was scared and feared for you, all during the time I was trapped. Deep down I didn't want you to rescue me, I didn't want you to get hurt. But looked what happened!" _She gestured to herself and took a step closer to Mugetsu, _"Your 'rescue' killed me. And the others,"_ She added in a dark tone before clicking her fingers.

A light cut through the darkness above Mugetsu and collided with a screen in front of him. The image appeared to be paused at the moment when his hollow self was firing a cero. And if Mugetsu looked hard enough he could see the faint outline of an orange shield Orihime used.

"_Let the reliving begin,"_ Ghost Orihime snarled and clicked her blood tainted bone fingers again. Mugetsu shut his eyes again and kept them shut. It may've been the weak thing to do but he didn't want to watch it all again. He didn't want to see anymore. His friends were safe and he wanted to move on. Dwelling on what would never be wouldn't get him anywhere. But he could feel his new found resolve diminishing, the regrets he still had nipped and pulled it apart, trying to crush him under a huge wall of despair.

Why was this happening? None of this felt natural. Nightmares didn't normally attack you like his were. They brought out your greatest fears, and while his may be the deaths of his friends. He wasn't afraid of himself killing them anymore.

Mugetsu had no more time to pounder about his new found realisation as he felt his eyes being pried open again. When they were opened he saw ghost Orihime standing were she was before, shaking a finger at him and tutting as if he were a naughty child.

"_You must keep your eyes open Kurosaki-kun," _She said sweetly but then her features turned dark, _"Or I'll pull them out and make you watch."_

He tried to scowl at her but whatever was holding his eyes open prevented him from doing so. And before he knew it he was reduced to the same quivering wreck he was the night before as he watched the ending of his hollow's rampage.

The scene began to play and Mugetsu watched with horror as he discovered the origins of ghost Orihime's burnt skin. He watched as the cero collided with Orihime's orange shield, her pleas echoed in the air as they fell on deaf ears. The red smashed through the shield and into the girl who'd been stood behind it. She was swept away and surrounded by red, the only indication that she was still alive were her screams of agony.

Mugetsu could feel it, the emotions of the hollow bleeding into him combined with the sorrow he felt for attacking his friend. The hollow was no longer conscious of who it was attacking. It was too far gone in blood-lust and rage to tell the difference between friend and foe. Letting out a huge roar, the mindless hollow stalked towards where it's prey had last been.

Stomping over the white dusty ground the hollow located the two forms of Ishida and Orihime. Thoughts of hunger and amusement passed through the hollows mind and into Mugetsu as he watched Orihime try to pull his zanpakuto out of Ishida's gut. The girl sobbed as she put all her strength into pulling out the blade, but her strength soon faded from her.

His hollow stopped a metre from it's prey and allowed Orihime to slowly turn to face him, her face bruised and her eyes wide as tears leaked from them. A sob filled cough escape her before the hollow swiped at her face with it's claws, sending her flying a few metres away. It got closer to the Quincy as he came to, blood coming out of his mouth as he looked up at the hollow. His eyes pleading but still filled with confidence that he could get his friend back somehow.

"_Kurosaki…"_ He coughed, his voice scratchy and faint. The hollow ignored the speech that the Quincy began as it reached down and pulled it's zanpakuto from Ishida's gut. After it was pulled free the boy in front of him sagged slightly and he flicked the blade to rid it of the blood that coated it. He was about to go in for the kill, ready to gorge himself of the sweet taste of his prey's reiatsu, but he sensed something coming towards him.

With a growl he looked up in the projectiles direction to see the girl holding her hands out and a small beam of gold heading towards him. Snorting in amusement the hollow executed a quick sonido and caught the golden missile, crushing it instantly. The sender cried out and another sonido was executed to reach her, intent on causing her pain.

Suddenly the scene paused, it froze with a few of a white clawed hand holding a burnt arm in it's grip tight and the flesh it held trembled.

"_Before we move on Kurosaki-kun, I have a present for you,"_ Her voice was sickeningly sweet as she walked closer to Mugetsu who then noticed she was missing an arm. His eyes widened as he realised that would be the next thing he had to endure, the next thing he inflicted on the girl he'd sworn to protect.

She stopped in front of him her hands held out in front of her as a ball of red began to form. Mugetsu shouted at her to stop, that this wasn't her. But the ghost laughed off his pleas and his vision was consumed by red.

The next he knew was burning, white hot pain. Mugetsu screamed as the skin was burn away from his bones. Everything was one fire as he trashed around in the chair trying to move away on reflex.

Then it stopped. And he was left with nothing but feeling numb as everything in his body slackened. He slumped down into his chair that was completely undamaged and his head drooped. Whatever forced his eyes open relented as his vision went blurred before being forced back up again. He locked gazes with ghost Orihime who was smiling the kind smile the real Orihime used to smile. The smile turned into a sneer as she raised her hand and clawed him across the face.

Mugetsu's head was forced to the side as she dug her nails into his cheek, clawing up through the slightly burnt flesh. She removed her hand with a harsh cackle and Mugetsu gasped and moaned in pain. His breathing was laboured but that matted little as with a click of her fingers he was forced to watch the remainder of the scene unfold.

Ghost Orihime appeared at his side, holding his arm in a tight grip before completely tearing it away in sync with the scene in front of him. As Mugetsu screamed Orihime screamed, both now void of an arm. He felt like he was on fire, but everything was going numb as if he were about to die. Black spots appeared in his vision but the dream wouldn't allow him to slip away. He could only vaguely see as Ulquiorra appeared behind his hollow, snapping off one of his horns to prevent him rampaging any further.

When the Ichigo had recovered and looked back up at Ulquiorra, the espada was already turning to dust. He gave a glance at the barely breathing Orihime who was sprawled out on the floor behind him. Ichigo turned to look at her, despair and devastation running through his brain. The emotions hit Mugetsu like a freight train, he remembered it all. He couldn't believe what he'd done, he hadn't seen any point in continuing. What would everyone think about him when it was over? They'd think he was an uncontrollable monster.

A choked sob escaped Ichigo as he turned back to Ulquiorra who'd half turned to dust. He tried to form words but he couldn't say anything and that was when the espada spoke. His voice tainted with a small part of emotion but it was barely noticeable.

_"I was beginning to understand what the woman meant by a heart. It's a shame her life was ended by the one she seemed to love, how tragic. You should go, trash, it is pointless in staying here as you have already defeated me. Maybe if you're quick enough you can save the rest of your friends even if it's only prolonging the inevitable. Aizen-sama will dispose of you all in the end."_

He disappeared into the wind, no longer alive but his words echoed in his mind and Ichigo turned back to Orihime and ran over to her constantly apologising for what he'd done. It stopped. Before Orihime could utter her forgiving words, saying she knew it wasn't his fault before her breathing stopped, leaving Ichigo alone.

"_That was nice wasn't it, Kurosaki –kun?"_ Ghost Orihime asked sweetly, walking in front of him. _"I guess my fun has ended, oh well. Here's one last parting gift."_

She thrust her hand forwards into his chest and he screamed. Her hand hit with such force that it broke through the skin and shattered his ribcage. More would've continued had Mugetsu not been pulled from the dream, awaken on his bed screaming as someone tried to hold him down.

~/~

**Beelzebub, Soul Reaper Academy**

"You did put another sleep spell on the kid right?" Beelzebub grunted to Iris as he tried to hold Mugetsu down. They'd awoken to hear Mugetsu screaming and thrashing in his bed and had instantly jumped into action, trying to awaken him.

"I did it when we woke up, Master," Iris confirmed as she watched Beelzebub try to calm Mugetsu down. The albino was clutching his chest with his left arm while the other lay limp at his side. He was covered with sweat and his face was panicked, but the eyes were empty.

"I-It was my fault…" He muttered more to himself then to anyone else in the room. "I killed them, I killed her," he looked at Beelzebub, anger in his face as he continued his babbling, "Why was I so weak? Why did I let it control me? I'm so pathetic! I couldn't protect any of them! I-" He wrenched himself out of Beelzebub's grip and jumped off his bed with a heavy thud.

"Mugetsu!" Beelzebub snapped at him, keeping as quiet as he could. "Look at me," Mugetsu looked at him and when Beelzebub met his eyes he saw what was going on. They were empty but, there was something else there. A small haze was on them, as if he were under a spell. And by combining that with the fact he was just in a dream Beelzebub realised what –or who- had happened.

"Morpheus!" He snarled the God of dreams name and as soon as he had Mugetsu backed away from him and ran out the door, muttering about it being his fault.

"Damn it!" Beelzebub cursed as the door closed behind Mugetsu, "We need to go after him. But we can't hide you as a student, things like that never work!" He growled, then something hit him, why bother with being someone else? "Iris, can you make our demon features invisible for about thirty minutes?"

"Thirty minutes is all I shall be able to give you, my strength isn't back, Master," She nodded and after a few seconds of mumbling Latin Beelzebub watched as her wings, tail and red eyes disappeared from view. Looking around them room Beelzebub spotted some spare uniforms and threw a set at Iris.

"Time for a change Iris," he smirked as the pair got changed in lightning speed, or in Beelzebub's case, half changed. He looked at the top in his hands and sighed, how the hell was he supposed to wear this? While his wings may be hidden from view it didn't mean they weren't there. He snorted, fine he wouldn't ware it, let them try stop him. Slinging the top over his shoulder he motioned for Iris to follow him and they both exited them room, hoping to avoid as many people as possible.

Thankfully when they stepped outside the corridor was deserted. Letting the door click softly behind them Beelzebub and Iris made their way down to their stairs, masking their spiritual pressure as they did. While walking down the stairs they both experienced a sense of nostalgia, as they'd both been through this kind of environment.

On the ground floor there were a few people wondering around but a few appeared not to notice Beelzebub and Iris, those that did left them alone while they whispered amongst themselves. They continued out the dorm block in silence until they came to a four-way-split. Silently cursing to himself Beelzebub looked around for someone to ask where the albino had gone. Then he spotted an older student with black hair and wearing a strange white thing on the side of his head. Recognising the way the boy held himself Beelzebub couldn't help but snort quietly, a noble, great.

"Oi," He called catching the nobles attention, "Have you seen…" he tried to think of the alias for Mugetus, "Tamotsu?"

"Who wants to know?" He asked suspiciously, green eyes narrowing at them.

"Cut the crap, I need to find him. Now," Beelzebub growled stepping closer to the noble.

"I'm not going to tell just anyone where Tamotsu went," the noble said. "He doesn't appear to be in the state to see anyone."

"That's why I need to find him!" Beelzebub snarled then noticing the way the noble talked about Mugetsu asked, "Who the hell are you anyway?"

"Kouki Kuchiki. I'm a friend of Tamotsu's," He said with a small smirk. "And who're you two?"

Beelzebub snorted, trust Mugetsu to make friends with a noble, someone who could rat him out. What the hell was with him? All the friends Mugetsu had so far, had either seen him without the illusion or had the power to bring everything down. He glanced at Iris, the small demon was bored, he could tell. She wanted to hurry up and find Mugetsu, and was rocking on the balls of her feet to voice her haste.

"We're just two, friends of his," Beelzebub found it strange to say the word 'friend'. When you were a Fallen you didn't have friends. You had brothers, enemies and slaves. But never friends.

Kouki raised an eyebrow then sighed, "I've never seen him with you two. In fact I've never seen you around the Academy, so who are you?"

Frowning Beelzebub quickly tried to think of an excuse, but the noble thought of one for him.

"Unless you're new transfers, or visiting for the day? You look foreign."

"We're just visiting Tamotsu." Beelzebub added, "Checking up on him."

"Really? He didn't mention anyone was visiting…"

"Surprise visit," Beelzebub interrupted. "Can you tell us where he went? We need to leave soon."

Trying to hide his suspicion Kouki nodded and proceeded to give them correct directions to Mugetsu, "If you keep going down this corridor then take a right, then left outside he'll be up a tree to the far right."

"What makes you so sure?"

"I followed him."

Smirking Beelzebub bid the Noble a quick goodbye and hurried to where he'd said Mugetsu was. Known to them they also had a certain Noble following them a few seconds later, but they had a plan to deal with that.

~/~

**The Tree, A Few Minutes Later**

Beelzebub looked up the tree to see Mugetsu sat as far up as he could, staring out over the horizon. The sun was just rising, brining an orange glow to everything around them as it shone one Mugetsu's face. Nobody spoke as Beelzebub and Iris made their way up to him. He made no indication that he was going to run away, instead he just sat there. Staring at nothing while the thoughts inside him played havoc with his mind.

"Snap out of it Tamotsu," Beelzebub growled, gaining Mugetsu's attention.

Slowly turning to face the two demons with a blank face Mugetsu spoke in a frustrated tone, "I killed them. I was so weak and pathetic I couldn't do anything!"

Beelzebub nodded to Iris who quickly muttered a few things in Latin before they both relaxed slightly. Comfortable they could now talk without being heard clearly they both pinned Mugetsu with their eyes.

"Don't give me that crap Mugetsu," Beelzebub snarled. "You were lucky to still be alive and there've been those greater than you who've fallen just as badly."

Mugetsu looked at Beelzebub, really looked at him and realised what he was saying, "You? But I thought-"

"That I was like this from the start?" Beelzebub let out a harsh laugh, "Why do you think we're called 'Fallen'? Iris here has been a demon from the start."

Mugetsu eyed the young demon with a small ounce of confusion, "Did she do what I did? Kill her friends and as good as kill her family?"

"No," Iris said speaking up. "I made a deal to save my Mamma, I was twelve at the time and Mamma was dying from an accident that was my fault. We were at the market watching one of the prince's return to the city. I wanted to get closer but accidentally stumbled out into his path. Mamma ran out after me to move me out the way but as she did one of his forward guards ran her down. I managed to pull Mamma out the way but the damage was done and even I knew taking her to a healer wouldn't help her. That's when Master Beelzebub appeared and we made a deal; I was allowed to spend one year with Mamma after he healed her and then I'd have to go with him. I didn't get to spend a year with Mamma," Iris hung her head. "She left me when she found out I made a deal with a demon. Master Beelzebub's looked after me since then and made sure no one sacrificed me to Lucy before he collected me," she looked at Beelzebub with a smile.

"But I didn't save them," Mugetsu muttered. "I killed them."

"No you haven't killed them," Beelzebub said crouching in front of Mugetsu. "Everything you've seen, everything you know and everything you did, it's all gone. Most of it will never happen, because you've stopped it. You've saved them all, and they don't know it."

Mugetsu said nothing as he looked up at Beelzebub through the white mess of his hair, brown eyes still glazed over from the spell Morpheus was trying to keep him under. But there was hesitation in those eyes and that was all Beelzebub needed to break pull Mugetsu from despair.

Grabbing Mugetsu by the chin Beelzebub forced him to look at Iris, "Do it now Iris!"

"What the hel-" Mugetsu's protest was cut off as Iris began chanting, a sweat breaking out on her forehead due to the exertion of doing so many spell's in a short space of time. Looking Mugetsu in the eye Iris' chanting didn't take longer than a few seconds. When she was done the albino slumped forwards slightly before righting himself.

Blinking to clear his vision Mugetsu first sight was that of Beelzebub and Iris in Academy uniform, which surprised him. Almost falling backing in surprise Mugetsu scowled at the pair in front of him.

"What the hell are you doing?" He snapped, glancing round to see if anyone was watching.

"Looks like he's back to normal, well done Iris," Beelzebub snickered.

Iris giggled, "Thank you Master."

"Hey!" Mugetsu growled, "You didn't answer my question."

"We just prevented Morpheus from messing with your dreams again and brought you out of his spell," Beelzebub growled in response moving back away from Mugetsu to stand on a branch opposite him.

"Morpheus?"

"God of dreams, Greek. Shimi must have got him to do this somehow, he doesn't usually target people with such ruthlessness," Beelzebub explained leaning against the trees trunk. "All those horrible, realistic dreams you've been having were his doing. Good thing we caught it early, with the rate he was going at you'd be a fuckin' mess by the end of the week."

"Then everything I saw was a lie?" Mugetsu asked.

"Not all of it, I'm sure he would've shown you some memories, it's how he works."

"Personal experience?"

"Not me, a…brother of mine had many enemies. I didn't realise what was happening to him until it was too late," Beelzebub said his jaw tensing. "He couldn't fight back and they killed him. I only managed to get there just before his body turned to dust."

"Beelzebub…"

"Don't pity me Mugetsu, I'm over it." Beelzebub cut over him, "My brother was foolish enough to land himself in the situation, he…deserved what he got."

Mugetsu twitched, "Bastard, I was just trying to help."

"Telling me it's all okay isn't helpin', he died ages ago. I couldn't have done anythin'," He smirked at Mugetsu's still twitching look, "I know you're an empathetic person but I don't need it, you need to concentrate on yourself."

"Fine," Mugetsu growled, "So what now?"

"We have news for you, but you're not goin' to like it," Beelzebub sighed. "Apophis is looking for you, Shimi got her released from prison by most likely playin' a mind trick on the Royal Guard. Tch, I thought they were supposed to notice things like that, Grim should at least."

"I haven't seen him since he was supposed to be tracking you down," Mugetsu shrugged as he thought about the missing Grim Reaper.

"He's probably been captured by Shimi, they never located me as I was well hidden," Beelzebub thought for a moment before an idea came to mind. "If I could find out where he is, maybe he could make everyone realise Shimi isn't what they think."

"He's going to listen to you?" Mugetsu asked doubtfully. "From what I heard, they're all suspicious of your intentions and don't trust you."

"That's why when I find him, you'll be the one to convince him," He replied with a grin.

"What? You've got to be kidding!" Mugetsu retorted shaking his head, "I'm supposed to be laying low."

"While we find out how to prove your innocence," Beelzebub added. "This could be the only damn way, so suck it up and get over it. I'll send Iris to get you when we find him, might be a while though."

"Great, what about Apophis?" Mugetsu scowled.

"Let's see.." He cocked his head as he looked up, "It's about six thirty, I'd say we got enough time to take her down. If Iris is up to blocking out our Spiritual pressure."

"I can only give you fifteen minutes master," Iris pouted.

"That's more than enough; Mugetsu here's a powerful son of a bitch," Beelzebub grinned ruffling her hair. "Now what to do about our little follower?"

"Follower?" Mugetsu scowled.

"Some kid called Kouki, said he was a friend of yours." Seeing the look on Mugetsu's face he added, "Don't worry he hasn't heard a thing."

"You better not have done anything to him," Mugetsu said bleakly, knowing what Beelzebub was light.

"Nice to know you have faith in me," Beelzebub smirked. "And no, I didn't _do_ anything, he's just stood down there waiting for you to come down and tell him you're okay. Looks like you made yourself some nice friends kid."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing," Beelzebub said. "Time to go, we've got to find Apophis quickly and before she finds you."

"Fine," Mugetsu said as he began to climb down the tree. "But how's she supposed to find me and why not bring Shimi with her?"

"She's a blood tracker, there aren't many of them left and their specific to her pantheon but they're a bitch to deal with. They track you using blood, hence the name, and there's no way of escaping them unless you kill them." Beelzebub paused to consider the other half of Mugetsu's question, "As for why she wouldn't bring Shimi with her, he's probably busy making sure everyone's under his control. He may be the Hogyoku but he's not all powerful and some people can break out of his spell, if they really want to."

Nodding in understanding Mugetsu continued down the tree, dropping himself in front of Kouki when he was low enough. The noble gave him a curious look then glanced up the tree to look for Beelzebub and Iris. When he caught sight of them half smiling he looked back at Mugetsu a small smile making its way onto his lips.

"Feeling better Tamotsu?" He asked, knowing what the answer would be.

"Uh yeah, sorry about earlier," Mugetsu replied running his hand through his hair. "I..uh remembered something I didn't want to."

Tapping him on the shoulder Kouki smiled in understanding, "Don't worry about it, I think I know what you mean. Sometimes I don't want to remember what they said about my father, doesn't stop me though. You never said you had friends from other pantheons."

"Well, they were just there when they died but I didn't expect to see them again," Mugetsu lied, shrugging as the two in question landed next to him. Beelzebub cast him a few glances to encourage him to hurry up.

"I've got to go help them with something, if you see Arata could you tell him?" Mugetsu asked as he backed away towards Beelzebub.

"Sure, just glad you're okay Tamotsu. Don't take too long though, or I might have to say something," Kouki grimaced waving them off as they flash-stepped and he couldn't help by notice the swirl of fire when Mugetus's friends did their 'flash-step'. He raised an eyebrow at both this and how easily Mugetsu had caught on to using flash-step but committed it to memory before making his way back inside.

Off to the distance Ryo had seen the exchange between the pupils noticing the foreignness of two of them. Narrowing his eyes as three of them flash-stepped away his watched as Kuchiki stared off in their direction before disappearing inside. Ryo wasn't sure what to do, he could attempt to follow his student and figure out what was going on but from the looks of it he was just helping out a new transfer. But then again the people he was with didn't look like transfers even if they were wearing uniforms. Sighing to himself Ryo turned around and decided it was best to go to the staffroom and tell the others, it was probably something they could add to the list.

~/~

**Thirty Minutes Later, Fifteen Miles Away From The Academy**

"You sure this is far enough?" Mugetsu asked willing to go further away as he lent on a tree at the edge of a clearing.

Beelzebub didn't answer for a second as he had his eyes closed but after a few moments he answered, "Another five miles would be ideal but we don't have time. She's on her way here."

Without another word he jumped into the clearing with Iris following behind him. Following them Mugetsu jumped into the clearing and walked up to Beelzebub who turned his way.

"Take off the illusion band and you Academy uniform," He ordered then added. "If someone watches then they'll just see two convicts having a battle and that's what we want them to see. No Academy student."

Scowling Mugesu quickly tugged off his clothes then removed the vambrace like band and rolled them up together before looking around deciding what to do with them.

"Give them to Iris, she won't be fighting," Beelzebub said before adding, "And get your Zanpakuto to stop suppressing your power so much, the barriers are already up."

"Yep! Cause they're my speciality!" Iris grinned as she grabbed Mugetsu's uniform and disappeared in a flash of hell-step.

'I'm guessing you heard him Tensa.'

'Yeah, I'm still suppressing some of your power. You won't need all of it to take her down.'

'**Oi! You better use me King, it's been boring sat here doing nothing!'**

'If I need to, I will.'

'**You better, or I might become a bitch to deal with.'**

Mugetsu didn't reply to his hollow only noting that he would probably use the mask, just to keep him happy. He didn't need his hollow running around as his double, the outcome would be disastrous. Feeling the stiff bandages form on his chest and up half his face Mugetsu held out his hand and collected black reiatsu into the form of a sword.

He looked as Beelzebub who was holding two short versions of Tensa, and when he caught Mugetsu looking he explained.

"My power is 'borrowing' other peoples powers or abilities, problem is I can't copy that form of yours but I can copy your old stuff," He shrugged. "I might switch to Apophis' though, depends how it turns out."

"How do you-" Mugetsu began but Beelzebub cut him off.

"No matter what you are now, the power you had before is still on you. It's like an echo, but that's enough for me to copy some of it and add a few of my abilities, not that I have many others. This is like my 'Bankai'."

Beelzebub didn't get to add any more, even if he'd want to because just as he finished talking a familiar voice called out to them.

"How nice for you to come greet me Mugetsu," She walked out of the edge of the forest, looking at Beelzebub as she continued, "And Beelzebub too, well that is a surprise. Trying to redeem yourself are we? Like anyone would forgive a Fallen."

"I'd watch your mouth if I was you Apophis," Beelzebub growled as he started towards her, preparing to do a hell-step.

"No! I'd watch yourselves, after all I'm not alone." With a click of her fingers black holes appeared either side of her and two identical men appeared. They were both wearing a dirtied white sarongs accompanied by dirty gold thick straps of leather which were shaped like a crop top that had a huge V-neck. A single strip continued down into belts that held small chained black sickles. Their dark burnt like skin was also covered by vambraces and enhanced by bright yellow snake eyes. The bottom half of their faces elongated out into a snakes mouth as their forked tongues flickered out, tasting the air.

"You called Missstresss," They both hissed in unison, two long front fangs catching Mugetsu's attention.

"Sek, Mot, show this foolish Fallen what he gets for mocking me," She looked at Mugetsu with dark snake eyes before throwing off her cloak and revealed someone who looked extremely similar to Anubis. Two curved daggers hung from her waist before she pulled them off and launched herself at Mugetsu. At the same time Sek and Mot began attacking Beelzebub.

* * *

><p>I guess not much happened in this chapter, I kinda got carried away with the beginning but anyway, next time it'll be the battle with Apophis and her minions. And soon we'll be catching up with Harribel and her fraccion.<p>

Next time: Striking Venom


	38. Striking Venom

Here it is, the battle between Mugetsu and Apophis. I hope it's good cause writing battles is hard but hey I hope you all enjoy it :)

Thanks to plainpain for beta reading.

I own none of the rights to Bleach, those go to Tite Kubo.

'**Shiro'**

'Tensa

Striking Venom

* * *

><p><strong>Mugetsu<strong>

Mugetsu blocked one of the daggers as Apophis launched herself at him. He quickly pushed her back and flash-stepped away before she could bring around the other, which was aiming for his neck. Barely giving him time to breathe the dark haired goddess appeared right next to him, her blades glowing an eerie green as they prepared to strike. He blocked them both with his zanpakuto as the tried to crash down on him. Charging up a Getsuga Tensho, Mugetsu put as much force as he could into pushing her away. When he did, he sent the Getsuga Tensho off with her, gaining a direct hit.

He watched as the black wave of reiatsu swept her away, knowing that wouldn't have taken her down. Sensing something coming at him from behind he turned just in time to catch Apophis sending two waves of dark green at him, although after a second they didn't seem like waves. The dark green energy took on the form of two snakes as they opened their mouths and hissed at him. As they shot towards him Mugetsu danced around them from all directions using a flash-step in order to send a constant barrage of Getsuga Tenshos at them.

The ground crumbled under the repeated intense force of Mugetsu's attack, stirring up dust and obscuring the snakes from view as the barrage continued. Satisfied he'd dealt with them Mugetsu flash-stepped towards Apophis his blade raised for attack. Not expecting the attack Apophis –regardless of her speed- didn't manage to move out the way and Mugetsu managed to bring Tensa down across her body before kicking her down into the ground. Blood flaying behind her she screamed as she crashed to the floor, kicking up more dust as she did so.

Not wanting to give her time to recover Mugetsu sent another barrage at the place where he'd kicked her. Suddenly, while he's in the middle of sending off a Getsuga Tensho something collides with his side before beginning to crush his chest. Trying to gasp for breath Mugetsu lets out a pained yell and then finds himself being shaken around by whatever is holding him. With his hands pinned to his sides and immobile he drops Tensa. Struggling Mugetsu tries to think of a way to break free, when it hits him. Kido.

Aiming both his hands at the snakes head he begins to concentrate and focus reiatsu into the palms of his hands. As the amount of reiatsu increased Mugetsu chanted the incantation as quickly as he could.

"Hado#1: Sho!" He roared sending the kidos piercing through the snakes head, causing it to drop him. Mugetsu fell to the floor creating a small crater as he did. Dragging himself up Mugetsu let out a few bloodied coughs and winced when his arms brushed his sides. Looking down he noticed two very deep incisions that were likely from the snake he'd just destroyed.

"Shit," He cursed as he walked over to Tensa, limping slightly as he did.

"I see my pet left you with a lovely present," Apophis called as she appeared in front of him. "The bites are poisonous too, and of course only I have the anti-dote. Just encase someone like Beelzebub manages to use them against me."

Mugetsu deepened his scowl as he brandished Tensa, ready to attack her again. Before he did Apophis held up her hand, a smile working its way onto her face.

"Hold it right there big boy, I have a proposition for you. If you manage to defeat me, you can have the anti-dote."

"Why would you do this?!" Mugetsu growled not following her line of thinking.

"Well, truth be told I despise Shimi and Aizen. But he holds me on a leash, so to speak and I have to do what he says. I do enjoy the jobs he gives me but, my interests have changed and his leash has slackened." Apophis admitted and sneer warping her smile before her expression softened, "If you manage to kill me then you can kill him. And I want him dead. After you've killed him, could you do this one thing for me. Find my successor."

"Your successor?"

She let out a harsh laugh, "Did you really think there wouldn't be a successor to take a Gods place? I have a successor, my daughter. Shimi has her somewhere and I want you to swear you'll find her, or there'll be no anti-dote for you. So Mugetsu, do we have a deal?"

"Why would I want to do this for you?" Mugetsu growled, believing what she was asking would be a waste of time.

"Do you really want Shimi to have the power of another God on his side? Because that's what'll happen to her," Apophis stalked forwards her hair and clothing blowing in the slight wind her determined step was creating. "Do you want that Mugetsu? Another me to go after all those you care about, to kill them just like I did Rukia?"

"Bastard," Mugetsu snarled, "Fine I'll do it!"

She stopped in front of him and smiled before gripping his left hand, "Now to make sure you keep your word. Just to warn you, anyone can see this. Whether you want them to or not," Digging her nails into the palm of his hand she muttered a few words in Arabic before removing her hand. When she did green smoke wrapped its way under his skin and up his arm, before taking the form of what looked like a sword laying horizontally across two boxes which were also over a thin wavy line.

"What the hell?!" Mugetsu raged, now trying to be inconspicuous at the Academy was going to be more difficult.

Apophis grinned at him, "The mark of me, Apophis. That's my name in hieroglyphics which means you are bound to complete the task I've set out for you. If you don't complete it within the next three months then it'll turn to poison and you will die. But, this is suggesting that you'll kill me," his expression darkened, "which you won't."

Jumping back away from Mugetsu Apophis twirled in the air and landed surrounded by her own green reiatsu.

"الإصدارالكامل, أبوفيس!" She yelled her words in Arabic but Mugetsu had a feeling he knew what she was doing. After yelling the words her form became surrounded by green and he could barely make out the change that was taking place, only that he reiatsu was increasing dramatically.

'**Looks like ya will need me King.'**

'I guess so.'

Drawing his hand across his face Mugetsu called forth his hollow mask and felt the familiar heavy feeling that came with it. He finished drawing up his mask just before Apophis emerged from her vortex of reiatsu.

Her lower half was now that of a snake while her head had also elongated down into a snakes, with a gold trimmed hood flaring out behind it. Gold leather covered her breasts and travelled up to cover both her shoulders, arcing out into points on either side. On the top of her head was a small black and golden snake welded to her skin. The swords she'd been holding earlier had now grown black metal handles which were at least one and a half foot long. The blades were thick and were mostly positioned on one side of the handle that continued up through them, but a small section was on the reverse side, allowing for backwards sweeps to still cause damage. They were black and trimmed with gold as Apophis brought them up to her face for examination. The stiff black leather spiked vambraces rustled slightly with the movement before going silent. Around her waist was a gold belt with a piece of black material hanging from it. Her outer scales which covered her hood and tail were all black as they seemed to absorb what little light there was, as the sun was still rising. The remainder of her scales were a gold tinted green that almost blended into her greyish golden skin.

"Let's finish this quickly," Apophis hissed before charging at Mugetsu quicker than he thought possible. Barely managing to bring Tensa up to block her first strike got nicked in the shoulder by the tip of it. Cursing he pushed he sword away with a Getsuga Tensho and used the temporary distraction to flash-step behind and score a hit right across her back just before he got smacked with her tail.

Bouncing across the floor Mugetsu stuck Tensa into the ground in order to slow himself down. Tearing up the ground Mugetsu stopped in time to flash-step away from an incoming black fang shaped attack that Apophis had sent his way. Coming out of flash step right in front of her he attempted to slice across her chest but his attack was blocked by one of her blades while the other came down for an attack. Forced one up Mugetsu deflected her attack and using the disposition of her momentum he listened to Shiro as he told him how to fire a cero.

'**Hold your hands out in font and collect as much reiatsu as you can. Now focus it into a small ball and fire it like a Kido right at her.'**

Doing exactly as he was told Mugetsu fired a huge wave of volatile reiatsu at Apophis just managing to hit her with all of it.

'**Nice try king, not as good as mine though.'**

Smirking to himself Mugetsu didn't have time to reply to his hollow before something scaly wrapped around his waist and began to crush him again. Noting allowing Apophis to do anything Mugetsu quickly let loose Kidos just as he did before, gaining a hiss in pain from his attacker but also being released. The both recovered at the same time and Apophis quickly launched a series of fast attacks down on Mugetsu.

The black haired shinigami met each of those strikes with ones of his own and also managed to duck out of the way as her tail came across to knock off his head. Unfortunately the tail came back around just as quickly and whacked him in the chest.

"Nicce try Mugetsssu," Apophis hissed, "But my releassse makess me fassster and ssstronger. It alssso grantsss me the ability to entomb usss in darkness. Like thisss!"

Just as she finished talking the whole of Mugetsu's world went pitch black and the only noises he could hear were those of Apophis' movements and her occasional hiss. Taking a deep breath Mugetsu knew the only way to overcome this would be to sense for his reiatsu. But considering he wasn't very good at it everything was about to be a lot harder.

'Ichigo, your left!'

Brining his zanpakuto up Mugetsu just managed to black an attack that would've split him in two.

'Thanks Tensa, but how the hell can she see me?!'

'Most snakes have the ability to see in infrared, that is probably how. Or she attempting to sense for your reiatsu. It is most likely the first option.'

Nodding to himself Mugetsu tried to feel for her again and had almost managed it when Tensa warned him she was coming in from behind. Flash-stepping away Mugetsu felt the air get cut just behind him. As he travelled away he tried to locate her again but this time she managed to smack him down just before Tensa could warn him. When Mugetsu hit the ground he expected it to be the usual rock hard soil that covered the Soul Society, but instead it was cold and wet. When he scooped some up in his hand it felt like mud and that's when an idea hit him.

Covering himself in mud Mugetsu knew that it should make it harder for Apophis to see him. When he was finished he tried to locate Apophis which after a few seconds he managed. She appeared to be trying to search for him but because it was dark and she couldn't see him, it was very difficult. Grinning to himself Mugetsu flash-stepped right at her and even though she sensed it at the last second she was too slow in evading. He stabbed her right through the heart and as he did a sharp nick was felt in his side and the darkness around them began to disappear.

Her form returned to normal before she spoke, "So you beat me, who would've guess?" She coughed up some blood to the side before looking back at Mugetsu, "Remember our deal or you'll die." With her last ounce of strength she pulled out a small black vial from the crown on her head and handed it to him. When her last breath left her the whole of her body turned to gold and black dust that disappeared into the wind. Now holding nothing but air Mugetsu willed his zanpakuto to demateralise and as it did he fell forwards slightly. The poison was beginning to take effect but and he had to drink it, with much effort as his muscles weren't responding Mugetsu pulled the top off the vial and downed the whole bottle.

Gagging at how terrible it tasted Mugetsu doubled over, because as it ran through his body it felt like he was being burned from the inside. The sensation only lasted a few seconds but it felt like longer. Mugetsu let loose a sigh as he flopped over onto his back, the wounds on his side his mask falling away from his face as the wounds on his side refused to heal.

'**I can't heal your wounds king! It must've been an effect of the poison that wasn't cured with the potion,'** Shiro growled from the mind scape giving Mugetsu a small headache.

'Damn it! Can you heal any of them?'

'**No!'**

'Okay! Jeez don't bite my head off, it's not my fault!'

'**If you'd dodge them then you wouldn't be having this problem!'**

'Be quiet, both of you! Ichigo you'll just have to be careful today, don't strain yourself too much as you don't want to start the bleeding after it's clotted.'

'Fine, but what do I do if someone notices?'

'You got carried away in training with Beelzebub this morning?'

'Sure, but I'll change the name if they ask for it.'

"Mugetsu!" Beelzebub called cutting over the internal conversation that had been happening. The Fallen hadn't escaped his battle unscathed either, but he was slightly better off than Mugetsu. He limped over to Mugetsu as he lay on the floor exhausted from the battle he'd just had.

"Looks like she got you good," He chuckled as he examined Mugetus's wounds. "You never stop surprising me though, not even Ra could defeat her and he's one powerful bastard. You should be proud…" He trailed off when his eyes noticed the mark on Mugetsu's shoulder, "You didn't! Don't tell me you made a deal with her!"

"I had to!" Mugetsu argued, "I needed an anti-dote!"

Rubbing the side of his face in frustration Beelzebub calmed himself, "What was the deal?"

"I've got to go rescue her successor in three months or I die," Mugetsu said flatly as he scowled up at Beelzebub. "She said Shimi's got her so I'll just ask him when I kill him."

"I doubt he'll tell you just like that, but you can try. If not maybe Grim can get something out of him," Beelzebub shrugged before calling, "Iris!"

"Yes Master Beelzebub!" Iris chirped as she appeared next to Beelzebub.

"You got anything for his wounds?"

"No, I'm sorry but that's not my area, Master," Iris held her head in shame, "You'd need a Shaman for that."

"Don't worry Iris, I'm sure he can handle it." Beelzebub looked up at the sun which was quickly rising over the horizon, "Time for us to go though, it's almost eight and everyone will be up soon. We won't be coming with you, we need to go find Grim and now that Apophis is dealt with we can get onto that. Come Iris."

And without another word Beelzebub and Iris disappeared in a flash off Hell-step leaving Mugetsu still lying on the floor, covered in blood and mud.

~/~

**Beelzebub's Battle**

Beelzebub hell-stepped out the way as two sickles cam in his direction appearing behind Mot in an attempt to strike him down, except Sek also charged out him and knocked Beelzebub off course. Growling Beelzebub raised his short swords and coaxed the two minions in to attack him. As predicted both launched themselves at Beelzebub and using his two swords and blocked their attacks before sending a wave of black and gold energy at them.

Beelzebub smirked as both minions were pushed back and allowed him to jump behind Mot in order to slice him across the back. While he was doing that Sek's sickle was thrown at his legs and wrapped around them. Sek pulled at the chain pulling Beelzebub over before he could do much damage and just as quickly Mot descended upon him and tried to stab Beelzebub through the heart. Fortunately for Beelzebub he moved just in time and instead of being impaled through the heart he was instead caught in the shoulder.

When the blade made contact Beelzebub kicked out at Sek and then bringing his left hand across he managed to stab Mot in the side. With a hiss from both the minions Beelzebub was free just in time to see Mugetsu kicking Apophis into the ground. Grinning he charged at the two minions who were brandishing their weapons as him, tongues flickering into the air. As he ran at them he sent a mimic of Mugetus's Getsuga Tensho at each of them before hell-stepping past Sek's right side, slicing through it as he did. Black blood oozed from the wound when suddenly Beelzebub was kicked in the side by Mot.

Staggering backward Beelzebub endured another round of blocking a barrage of attack from the duo. Avoiding their chains and blades Beelzebub got in a few small cuts and received a few of his own. To break out of the cycle Beelzebub sidestepped Mot's attack and grabbed him arm before swinging him into Sek, sending the pair rolling along the floor. Glancing up he briefly saw Mugetsu fire two Kidos right through a giant snakes head.

Hell-stepping towards Sek and Mot Beelzebub sent another round of mimicked Getsuga Tenshos at the minions. Dust kicked up as the barrage made contact with the floor, tearing up dirt and obscuring the pair from view. Standing above the cloud of dust Beelzebub sensed for the spiritual pressure of the minions when suddenly it flared below him and a giant green and gold snake launched itself at him. Beelzebub move out the way just in time to avoid being bitten by its head but didn't move in time to avoid the trashing tail. When it connected with his chest it knocked the breath out of him and sent him crashing into the floor. As he fell he caught a glance of Apophis activating her final release and a frown crept onto his face.

After hitting the floor Beelzebub groaned as he turned himself over and rolled out of the way of another attack by the snake. This time it flared out it's hood in which the edges were blades and the managed to clip his back and wings. Growling Beelzebub decided it was time to end it. Covering his blades in his reiatsu and charging up a fast hell-step at his feet he waited for the snake to rear up for another attack.

As he expected the snake reared up, faring out its hood as it did so and was about to strike at Beelzebub when he acted.

Letting loose the hell-step Beelzebub position one blade above him and the other at his waist and aimed for just below the head of the snake. He dodged under the snakes head and dragged his blades through the tough body. Thanks to the blades being coated in his reiatsu they managed to rip through the tough body and sever the bones at the back. Blood sprayed back at him as he put more effort into dragging the blades through. Noticing that the head was now severed his blades exited the snake as it dropped to the floor in three different sized pieces.

Landing lightly on the floor and slightly out of breath Beelzebub turned to see the snake morphing back into the two minions it had been in the first place. Both of them were torn up but Beelzebub had little time to take note of their injuries before they disappeared into gold dust. With a relieved sigh Beelzebub let go of Mugetsu's powers and allowed the short swords to disappear in to crackle of purple fire. Turning around he saw a black box disintegrating around Mugetsu and Apophis and began to walk towards them, noticing that one of the minions had got him in the leg. Snarling to himself he continued to limp towards Mugetsu, calling out his name when Apophis had disappeared.

~/~

**Present Time, Mugetsu**

"Damn you Beelzebub!" Mugetsu growled, annoyed that the Fallen had just left him. Groaning Mugetsu pulled himself up suddenly feeling like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He'd killed Apophis, he had avenged Rukia and even if it turned out Shimi had been making her do all those things Mugetsu had little remorse for her.

Looking around Mugetsu realised that he didn't have his disguise band. But before he could panic his eyes set on it lying a few feet in front of him on the floor along with his Academy uniform. Grabbing them he didn't put them on but instead looked around for somewhere where he could wash himself. His eyes suddenly set on a place where light was reflecting off something which he could only guess was water. Grinning to himself Mugetsu managed to flash-step over to it and discovered that it was indeed water.

Placing his clothes on the edge he dropped into the water and began cleaning himself. The cool water was welcomed by his body as he took a few minutes to relax and sink into it. He could hear nothing and he found it strangely calm as he allowed himself to think over what had happened over the course of the night.

The dreams he'd been having were the main part of his concern, it reminded him that Shimi was looking for him even if he wasn't putting much effort into it. But then there was the fact that even though Iris had freed him from the haze he'd been under he couldn't help but feel down and angry about what he'd seen. His friends had always counted on him and he'd always sworn to protect them, but then he'd done something like that. He'd done the opposite to protect them. He'd hurt them. He'd killed them and then he'd just moved on. But he had to. His friends were safe now and he wasn't going to turn into a monster and kill them. The only thing he had to watch out for was Shimi and his accomplices.

Suddenly his thought's drifted to Apophis and to the possibility that maybe not all those who worked with him did it of their own free will. Maybe he had others in a similar situation to Apophis. The thoughts caused determination to course through his body. If he were to defeat Shimi then all these people would be freed of his control and nobody would have to suffer any more for the sake of his revenge on Mugetu.

Dunking his head under the water Mugetsu quickly washed off the dirt and blood from his face and then proceeded to pull himself out of the water. Shaking himself off to dry himself as much as possible Mugetsu then pit his uniform on along with the band and began a slower flash-step back to the Academy.

* * *

><p>So that's Apophis dealt with and Beelzebub's off to get Grim, I think Harribel will appear in about two chapters but it depends how much I cover in each one so I'm not gonna say for definite.<p>

الإصدار الكامل , أبوفيس - Full release, Apophis

Next Time: A Crippling Day


	39. A Crippling Day

Damn, guys I so sorry this took ages. It's been pretty busy lately but hopefully I'll get the next chapter out soon.

I own none of the rights to Bleach, those go to Tite Kubo.

Thanks to plainpain for beta reading :)

'**Shiro'**

'Tensa

A Crippling Day

* * *

><p>When Mugetsu arrived at the Academy he had a hard time sneaking to his room. Dodging around students and teachers he tried to make sure no one saw him. He needed to find a way to wrap up his wounds or they'd cover all his clothes in blood, which would defeat the object of hiding his identity. He finally managed to get to his room and tumble in through the window, thankful that it was empty. If it hadn't been, then he would have a lot of explaining to do to Arata.<p>

Mugetsu glanced at the clock that was on their desks and frowned when he noticed the time read quarter-to-nine. It would be another rushed start for him. He collapsed onto his bed and just lay there for a few moments, aware that it was wasting time.

His thoughts found their way to how he was going to complete Apophis' wish. The only possible lead he had was Shimi, and he didn't know anything about him. Except that he was Aizen's half of the hogyoku. But it wasn't like he could just walk up to Shimi and just ask where the girl was, so what was he supposed to do?

His fists clenched as he growled to himself, "Damn it!"

He couldn't do anything from where he was! Coming to the Academy was a foolish idea, he should be out there helping Beelzebub and Ananke find a way to take down Shimi not at some Academy learning things he already knew –besides the kido. Regrets kept pouring into his mind but were interrupted when his sides spiked with pain, demanding he pay them attention.

'Shiro?'

'**King?' **The Hollow cackled back, aware of what Mugetsu was about to ask.

'Go get something for these wounds,' Mugetsu growled back into his mind, not in the mood for Shiro's games. 'And don't let anyone see you.'

'**Of course I will,'** Shiro replied before materialising in front of him with a mischievous smile on his face. A smile that made Mugetsu twitch with annoyance, but he didn't say anything. He didn't want to give his Hollow the satisfaction that he was getting to him.

Mugetsu barely paid attention as Shiro eased the door open and sonidoed away silently. The door shut behind him leaving Mugetsu to his thoughts. The young reaper lent forwards, his elbows resting on his legs as his hands cradled his face. He closed his original brown eyes, shutting out everything as he tried to make sense of all that had happened to him. He wanted to move on, he really did, but he felt that if he moved on from everything in _his _past that he'd be forgetting it all. Like it was nothing. Like he didn't care about what he did. What he could've done, but he did. He cared about what happened, about what he could've done. But that was in the past. He couldn't keep old wounds open.

Everything had its end. He'd had an end.

But everything had a beginning. And this was his.

A new beginning in a new world. A chance to make things right, which he'd already done. And while his heart may feel heavy from what he'd done that ghosts of his past wouldn't haunt him. Beelzebub was proof that you shouldn't let your past get to you. Mugetsu could tell that Beelzebub was regretting everything, and that he couldn't let it go. He was punishing himself.

He exhaled a shaky breath as his sides tingled in pain again.

After Shimi was done with he'd either stick around with everyone or find something else to do. He smirked to himself, there wasn't a question about what he'd do. He'd stick with his friends, just like they always stuck with him. Right until the end.

With a small, content smile on his lips and a happy twinkle in his eyes Mugetsu remembered all the good times he had with his friends. The ones before and the ones now, even Arata, Shizuko, Katsu, Hitomi and Kouki were growing on him. Possibly even Beelzebub.

~/~

**Mugetsu, Twenty Minutes Later**

The door clicked open and Mugetsu jumped up, having been interrupted from his thoughts he instinctively took a fighting stance. He lowered it when he saw Shiro enter with a small bundle in his hands. Mugetsu blinked, there was no screaming coming from the corridors, he couldn't smell anything that resembled burnt flesh or corpses. Had his hollow managed to do something without killing anyone? His brows rose in amusement and surprise.

"**Don't look so surprised king, I can do things without killing others,"** Shiro growled, throwing the bundle at Mugetsu before disappearing.

'Uh…Thanks..'

Shiro sent nothing in reply and Mugetsu looked down at the bundle he'd caught. There was a considerable amount of bandages along with some ointment. Mugetsu assumed the ointment was to stop the bleeding and quickly stripped off his slightly dirty uniform and applied it to his wounds, grimacing slightly as he did. When it had been applied it began attempting to wrap bandages around his chest, where they were needed the most.

After much cursing and fumbling with the bandages Mugetsu finally managed to get them tight enough around his chest. He then stuffed the remainder of the bandages and ointment under his bed along with his dirty uniform and with a quick glance at his clock he found that it was already quarter-past-nine. Scowling he pulled on a clean uniform –reminded Tensa about his black reiatsu- and scooped up his bag before dashing out the door and to the canteen, hoping to catch the end of breakfast.

Which he did. Just.

~/~

**1:20pm**

Mugetsu hobbled out of Kido, Arata and Shizuko trailing behind him with worried looks on their faces. They –like a few other in the class- had noticed Mugetsu's lack of energy during class, his constant grimacing –along with the normal scowl-, his lack of focus and not as strong kidos. Although most of the others passed it off at him being tried Arata knew that Mugetsu had gone to sleep around the same time as him.

"Tamotsu?" Arata called and the albino in front of them stopped his movement towards the Zanjutsu building.

"Yeah?" He answered, flashing them a smile as he did.

"Are you okay? You don't seem…yourself today…" Arata asked, Shizuko nodding in agreement beside him.

"I'm fine," He replied, still smiling. "Don't worry, I'm just tired that's all. Couldn't sleep last night," He began to turn away waving as he did, "I'll see you guys later."

Shizuko and Arata frowned at Mugetsu's retreating form but instead of running after him and demanding answers they knew they wouldn't get, they continued towards their own Zanjutsu class. Unaware that a certain Egyptian was following Mugetsu.

~/~

**4:50pm**

Collapsing beneath the tree where he knew everyone would meet him Mugetsu's eyes tried to close themselves. He was tired, both mentally and physically. Zanjutsu and Hakuda had been the lessons to take it out of him. Everyone had been pitted against him and the sensei to see how well they'd do against someone who was much better than them. It was also in hope that they'd pick up the techniques which Mugetsu and the senseis had restricted themselves to using. The majority of the class had managed to get it down by then end of the lesson, with a few only struggling with a few small bits.

"You're unusually tired," A foreign voice drawled from above him. Jumping out of his skin Mugetsu looked up to see Kabexnuf staring down at him with an analytical gaze.

Mugetsu scowled at the Egyptian but he took no notice as he continued to talk, "And you've been more cautious about your sides. Is something wrong with them? Injured maybe?"

His scowl deepened, "No. Just took a hard hit the other day."

"Humm," Kabexnuf frowned.

"Did you want something?"

The Egyptian seemed to contemplate something for a second before answering, "There was one thing. We're doing a small…paper on the traitor captain incident. Would you be able to give me your point of view on what happened?"

"I guess I could…"

'**Why'd you say that king?!'**

'What?!'

'**He's obviously trying to get information out of you!'**

'Wha-'

'**Tensa said, but he's busy stabbing the air at the moment.'**

Mugetsu inwardly raised a brow gaining a response from the Zanpakuto.

'Staying in here all the time become tedious, I'm trying to pass the time.'

'By stabbing the air?'

Shiro started cackling before a loud **'OW!'** and a _smack_ echoed through Mugetsu's mind.

'I was attacking Shiro but he just kept sonidoing away and I didn't want to get serious.'

'**You just can't keep up with me.'**

'You want to bet?'

'Uh guys?'

'**Of course, winner gets to order the other around.'**

'Tensa? Shiro?' Mugetsu called again but they weren't listening and snapping back to reality he noticed Kabexnuf was staring at him.

"Tamotsu?"

"Yeah? Sorry I was thinking…about the thing you wanted to talk about," Mugetsu lied as he stifled a yawn.

"So what were you, a plus doing in the I?" He asked with a small smirk. Mugetsu cursed inwardly trying to think of an excuse.

"Uh, well I wasn't really in the I. I was uh..on a hill nearby when I saw it all," He paused for a second to think of reason for being on a hill, when it came to him. "I was visiting the graves of the family I used to live with. They died a year ago in a hollow attack."

"You must have very good eyesight," Kabexnuf commented.

"Not really, I could only see a giant black curtain type thing which caught my eye. It was a few days later that I heard what had really happened," Mugetsu shrugged. "Is that all?"

"I suppose so, thanks for your input Tamotsu," Kabexnuf said as he began to lounge back against the trunk of the tree.

Deciding that he sound try have a decent conversation with the transfer Mugetsu called up to him, "So how're you finding this place?"

"It's very different to where I'm from, everything here isn't as extravagant but I find myself liking it. The people are different, excitable about my presence but most respect me," He said, examining the jewelled bracelet he wore on his wrist, under the Academy uniform. "Although I prefer our methods of teaching as these ones seem too soft."

Mugetsu frowned, "Soft?"

"Back home after a few lessons of practice we go against real _summoned_ enemies," He gave a small smile. "Mostly hieracosphinx's are summoned. Evil creatures, similar to hollows. Only worse."

"Why the hell would they do that?"

"So that we learn and become strong, you perform your best when death is a possibility." His look darkened, "It doesn't make us caring people. We become cold and heartless because of it, which is one of the reasons we do exchanges. Because we don't want to change our ways but we want to be able to care more, it we don't then we see no point in our job."

He paused before continuing, allowing Mugetsu to take in what he just said. While Mugetsu himself couldn't believe it he had knew it was probably true, considering how Apophis had been like, but what about Anubis?

"Those that go away usually come back different, more emotional. Anubis was one like that, he's so emotional to his family now, Osiris especially." When he saw Mugetsu's confused look he added, "His dad."

Mugetsu shook his head in disgust, "But they're you allies, why would you let them get killed just because they're not strong enough yet. You're supposed to protect the weak! That's why soul reapers exist."

"Because we need strong people, the weak don't have a place because they'll die. We don't become too emotional towards strangers because it is only our job to protect them." Kabexnuf sighed, knowing Mugetsu wouldn't understand, "Nothing more is needed of us so long as we follow our orders."

"So you just lie down and take it? If you think things should change then you should fight for it, if you don't then you'll lose everything." Mugetsu exclaimed finding this similar to when he'd told Byakuya about fighting against the rules to keep his sister alive. "You can still be strong and care, protecting the ones you love doesn't make you weak, it gives you strength."

Kabexnuf raised a well-defined eyebrow, accusation in the eyes that studied Mugetsu, "You sound like you know that from experience. What happened?"

'Ah crap, I guess I got carried away.'

….

'Any help guys?'

….

'Hello?'

….

Silence was all that greeted him and Mugetsu refrained from twitching at how unpredictable his inner spirits were. Mugetsu inwardly growled as he started thinking up a short story based on what he'd told everyone else.

"Ah well, this family I lived with…they always got picked on by local thugs –because we lived in 79th- so I protected with all I had," Mugetsu shrugged off the lie, that wasn't entirely a lie. He had protected his family with all he had, just not in the context he'd insinuated.

"They died then?" Kabexnuf asked, little emotion showing on his face.

Mugetsu nodded, "A hollow killed them on the one day I was too far away to help. But I wouldn't have been able to do anything. They left me a few things, and that's when I decided to become a soul reaper. So I could protect those who couldn't protect themselves."

"You'd so easily jump into a fight to save strangers? And not because it's what you're ordered to do?" Kabexnuf frowned, not understanding the concept.

"Of course, everyone deserves a chance, no matter who they are," Mugetsu said, reminiscing on all the different people he'd befriended; Nel, Harribel, Ishida and so many others who were hunted down because of what they were.

"But why? I don't see what you'd gain from it," Kabexnuf's gaze on him intensified. "You have to have some other motive, seeking glory? Fame? Riches?"

"No," Mugetsu snapped. "None of it, I just want to protect the people I care about. I don't do it for any other reason."

"You're an interesting person, Tamotsu," Kabexnuf conceded, though confusion still laced his golden eyes as the feathers in his hair twitched. "I believe I could learn a lot from you." He jumped out the tree and began to walk away, turning back to look at Mugetsu, "I must go. The night calls and I have things I need to attend to, see you around Tamotsu."

Mugetsu watched with a scowl as Kabexnuf walked away only to be replaced a few seconds later by Arata, Katsu, Hitomi and Shizuko.

"Tamotsu!" Hitomi yelled, a mock scowl on her face, "Have you been avoiding us?"

"N-no," He smirked back. "What makes you say that?"

"We haven't seen you much today," Shizuko piped up softly. "And you've been very quiet in lessons, we were worried."

"Well those two were worried," Katsu said sarcastically, pointing to the two girls. "We weren't really bothered."

"Yes you were!" Hitomi retorted, grinning. "You kept asking where Tamotsu was," she put on a mock –very low- voice of Katsu's, "'Have you seen Tamotsu? I haven't seen him much today, I hope he's okay.'" She returned her voice to normal, cackling slightly, "You see?"

Arata rolled his eyes, "We asked once if you'd seen him. We just wanted to talk to him, y'know because that's what friends do."

"Yeah but you could at least worry for him a little," Hitomi argued back, using her thumb and index finger to show 'a little'.

"He can take care of himself," Arata snorted. "He did live in 79th after all."

"That doesn't give you a reason not to care!"

"I never said I didn't."

"But you're not acting like you do!"

"And you're the expert on that?"

"Yes!"

Katsu stood between Mugetsu and Shizuko and whispered, "They're like a married couple. If we left now they wouldn't notice."

Mugetsu and Shizuko laughed quietly before Mugetsu replied, "I've never seen them like this, they always like this?"

Shizuko nodded in answer, "Yes. It's because Hitomi can't understand that Arata has a different way of expressing himself."

"Although she should by now," Katsu shrugged. "Come on let's see how far we can get without them noticing."

A sly grin made its way onto all their faces –even Shizuko's- and they all began sneaking away before using a short flash-step to gain distance. Arata and Hitomi didn't notice until they were all on the opposite side of the garden area. Both of them forgot their argument and sent each other a look and started chasing the others with flash-steps of their own. As they did Mugetsu kept himself slow enough for them to just be able to catch up. Katsu was letting out small rumbling laughs which Shizuko matched with her own soft and barely audible giggles. Mugesu had a smirk of his own on his face as he too let out the occasional laugh, while the three of them dodge around the people in their way and kept Arata and Hitomi from catching them.

To draw it out for longer Katsu suggested they split up, so he and Shizuko took off in one direction –with Arata on their tail- while Mugetsu went in another direction that took him back round near the kido fields. With Hitomi cackling behind him and baiting him to stop, Mugetsu replied with a confident 'no chance' and kicked his speed up a notch.

Gaining a good distance from her he sped round the corner and almost right into someone he wished he hadn't. Nori. Or more accurately, Nori and his small group of snarky, sneering friends. There was about five of them including Nori; two girls and three boys. All of them looked at him with equal disdain and he was just about to flash-step away when Nori spoke up.

"Look what crawled out of its pit," He sneered, his gaze traveling over Mugetsu. "You're looking a bit worse for wear Tamotsu, maybe I can help you," He gave Mugetsu a threatening glare, which Mugetsu promptly ignored finding it pitiful compared to others thrown at him.

"What's you problem Nori?" He growled, "Are you jealous because I managed to avoid your pathetic excuse for a kido? Or because you assume I think I'm better than everyone else? Don't assume things you know nothing about."

"At least I don't _murder _people," Nori countered, the corner of his mouth twitching up.

Mugetsu scowled, his hands twitching to teach Nori a lesson, but he wouldn't. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"The family you live with, you murdered them didn't you?" He coaxed, believing he had Mugetsu in a corner. Not knowing he was dragging up memories Mugetsu would rather leave undisturbed, "You admitted it. You killed them all in cold blood."

"You don't know what you're talking about Nori," Mugetsu growled his temper rising.

"Or what you'll kill me too?" Nori taunted, "I bet they were all weak if you managed to kill them, pathetic vermin that lived in 79th."

Mugetsu snapped, nobody insulted his family, he didn't care if it was directly directed at them. The insult was there and it was aimed at his family, regardless of it being the one he'd made up. His eyes narrowed as he charged towards Nori, whose eyes widened in surprise and fear as he tried to bring up a guard. His friends behind him did the same wondering what they should do. But none of them had the chance to do anything as Hitomi –unaware of the current situation- took him by surprise and tackled him around the waist. His injured waist.

"Ahhhhhhhhh!" He howled, making an already scared Nori jump in fright. As he and Hitomi tumbled to the floor he felt the wounds he'd been extremely careful in not opening open again and the blood began to seep through the bandages. He let out a string of curses as he pushed Hitomi off him and jumped up.

"What's wrong?" She asked, small lines of worry appearing on her face.

Mugetsu held his hand up for her to hold on, while he collected himself. Taking a slow breathe he spoke, "I guess you got me Hitomi. Go get the others while I do something."

"W-w-hold on a second," She demanded before shooting a glare at Nori. "Has he been causing trouble again."

"Nothing I can't handle," Mugetsu smirked as he began edging away, feeling the blood reaching his uniform.

"He's crazy you know!" Nori accused, his friends nodding behind him in agreement, "He was about to attack me before you showed up!"

"Don't insult my family then!" Mugetsu growled back, edging away some more and hoping no one noticed. Unfortunately they did.

"Then why're you trying to leave? You're obviously hiding something," A smug look crossed his face. "Maybe I should report you."

Mugetsu shrugged, "Go ahead."

Hitomi's eyes darted between them before quickly moving back to Mugetsu and widening slightly, "Tamotsu! You're bleeding!"

"Uh, am I? It's probably just some dirt or a stain…" Mugetsu chuckled uneasily, his sides tingling in pain as he tried to play it down.

"It doesn't look like a stain," Hitomi muttered. "Maybe you should go see the nurse?"

Nori and his friends were busy eyeing the slowly expanding stain to say anything as Mugetsu slowly backed away.

"Yeah, I'll go do that," He lied, feeling slightly guilty as he did. But before any of them could say anything more he flash-stepped away and towards the dorm.

~/~

When he reached his room he quickly pulled off his uniform and placed some ointment on the open wounds, in hopes it would help them seal. He then replaced the bandages and tightened them again before changing his uniform and grabbing the other set from under his bed. With both sets of dirty clothes in hand he went about looking for the laundry room to get them washed.

After some time of searching –and avoiding people he knew- Mugetsu found the laundry room and quickly dumped the dirty uniforms in a wash basket before hurrying to the canteen where he found the others queuing for their dinner. They hadn't noticed him walk in and as he joined the queue for his food they left with theirs and grabbed a table.

A few minutes later Mugetsu had his tea and made his way over to his new friends, which was when they finally noticed him.

"Tamoutsu!" Hitomi called, a small smile on her face. "I was just telling the others how I got the jump on you earlier!"

"No way! It was only because I was distracted…" Mugetsu disputed, the corner of his mouth turning up in a small smirk.

"Yeah, too busy trying to pummel Nori into the ground," She cackled and shoved some rice into her mouth.

Mugetsu did the same just as Arata let out a groan, the others listening intently as he spoke, "I thought I told you not to make enemies with him?"

"I didn't! He's the one making me his enemy," Mugetsu growled, after swallowing his rice. "Besides, he insulted my family and I'm not going to let him do that."

"I wonder why this guy hates you so much," Katsu commented, absentmindedly. Silence fell over the table as everyone continued eating their dinner, thinking over what Katsu had just said.

"Maybe," Hitomi started, swallowing her food. "He's just jealous."

"I suppose, but why constantly pick a fight with someone he knows is better than him?" Katsu tapped the end of his chopsticks on the table. "Jealousy is probably a motive but he's most likely trying to get you into trouble, make people think that you're unstable."

Mugetsu sighed, "If I cared about what people thought about me, I would've died my hair a long time ago."

"And get a tan?" Hitomi added with a grin.

Mugetsu merely scowled at her.

"Hitomi," Shizuko scolded. "That wasn't very nice."

"Hehe, I was only joking Iris. Snowy's skin's a cool colour," She giggled. "Literally."

Arata rolled his eyes, while Katsu and Shizuko –despite herself- let out a small laugh. When Hitomi's small bout of laughter died down her eyes widened slightly as she stared at Mugetsu.

"I forgot to ask, how's the injury?" As she asked everyone else looked at Mugetsu, trying to figure out where he was hurt.

"It was nothing really, just a small scratch from yesterday…" He dismissed before continuing with his food.

Hitomi frowned along with the others, obviously they didn't believe his vague story.

"It didn't look like a scratch," She said. "The blood was seeping through your uniform for Kami sake!"

Shizuko studied him, her eyes slightly narrowed as she did. "Show me," She demanded in an uncharacteristic ordering voice.

"Shizuko, it's fine really," He scowled at Hitomi and the others. "Hitomi's just making it seem more than it is."

"Tamotus," Shizuko glared at him, not taking no for an answer. "If I want to be a healer I have to care for everyone, no matter what they say."

"But there's no-"

"Just let her," Katsu cut over him. "She'll keep bugging you if you don't."

"No," Mugetsu snapped, shoving the rest of his rice into his mouth. "I don't need it looking at. There's nothing wrong with it, it's a small scratch."

"Tamotus…" Arata soothed, trying to diffuse the situation.

Mugetsu shook his head as he got up, "Look guys it's fine, I've been through worse anyway. I'll be in our room if you need me."

And without another word, but some worried looks from the others Mugetsu deposited his plate on the counter and made his way to his room. He was thankful that he didn't run into Kouki of the Egyptian on the way and as he clicked the door shut he crashed down on the bed. As he did so he unintentionally fell asleep, only meaning to rest his eyes for a few seconds. But the events of the day got to him and Mugetsu –for the first time in a while- fell into a dreamless sleep.

~/~

**Harribel, Hueco Mundo**

A rumbled echoed across the sand as the rocks beneath were churned up and thrown across the place. The screaming of hollows could be heard as their life was consumed by those stronger. When the sand finally settled four figures could be seen. One was kicking the sand in a frustrated fashion while the others were merely stood facing the structure of a huge while dome, discussing their thoughts.

"It's weird being back here," Sung-Sun mused, her sleeve covered hand just in front of her mouth. "It doesn't fell like home anymore."

"Tch, it never did," Mila-Rose snapped, glaring at the white dome. "Having everyone look down on us because we're women, and that Baraggan," A snarl escaped her lips as she mentioned the name.

"We had to leave," Harribel said, her arms folded over her chest. "They assumed we were partially responsible for the murders. I only wish we could've somehow helped Mugetsu, he's done much for us."

"Ha! He shouldn't have got himself caught," Apacci snorted, kicking up some sand in Mila-Rose's direction.

Said Arrancar twitched as the sand hit her, turning to face Apacci with annoyance covering her features, "Will you stop that?! You've been doing it repeatedly since we got here!"

Apacci smirked and kicked more sand at Mila-Rose, earning an annoyed shriek before she began to pounce at Apacci only to have Harribel stop her with a look.

"We don't have time to mess around, we need to find Mugetsu," She said, knowing she wanted to repay the debt she owed him. But also because she'd become fond of the boy's presence. There was something familiar yet different about him, something that made him stand out. She wasn't sure what it was, but she was determined to find out along with answering a few other questions she had about his origins.

* * *

><p>So we finally caught up with Harribel and her fraccion, yeah. Not sure if they'll appear again next chapter but chances are they will :)<p>

Next Chapter: These Small Hours


	40. These Small Hours Part One

Sorry about such the long wait, things've been busy and my laptop charger broke D: so I had no laptop for a week, which was horrible. Anyway I didn't get the chance to completely finish he whole of this chapter, so here's half to keep you guys going until I can write the rest. The next update won't be for a while cause I'm going on Holiday tomorrow for a week, but I'll get onto it when I get back :)

Thanks for all the reviews, follows and favourites I really appreciate it.

Thanks go to plainpain for beta reading

I own none of the rights to Bleach, those go to Tite Kubo.

'**Shiro'**

'Tensa

These Small Hours

* * *

><p>"-ome on Tamotsu, get up! You don't want to make us late for the best day of the week!"<p>

Mugetsu groaned as his brain took it's time to register the loud voice of Arata. Pulling the warm duvet up over his head he decided he wanted to go back into his dreamless sleep, something that was a rarity for him. But to his slight annoyance Arata didn't want them to be late and before Mugetsu knew it he was being pulled out his bed by his ankles.

"Urgghhh!" Arata huffed as he let the lower half of Mugetsu's body flop to the floor, "You weigh a ton! Maybe it's a good thing if you miss breakfast every morning…"

Mugetsu kicked his foot out lightly in the direction of Arata and felt a satisfying thud along with a yep from the victim.

"W-what in Kami's name was that for?" Arata snapped, grabbing his legs again and tugging with more force. Mugetsu let himself be pulled from the bed and right before his shoulders left the edge his twisted round and out of Arata's grip, before pulling himself up to sit on the floor with his back against his bed.

"M-morning," Mugetsu yawned with a smirk.

Arata rolled his eyes and threw a uniform at Mugetsu, "You best put a new set on. Kami knows how long you've been wearing the same set for."

"I changed yesterday," Mugetsu scowled as he scooped up the uniform and placed it on his bed, waiting for Arata to leave.

"I'll meet you down in the canteen," Arata said as he picked up his bad and made his way to the door, stopping just as he was about to leave. "Oh yeah, this was pinned to our door this morning," He threw a white envelope onto Mugetsu's bed. "It has our Saturday lessons in it."

When Arata's midnight hair disappeared out the door and it clicked shut behind him Mugetsu quickly pulled off his uniform. Knowing he should air his wound for a short while Mugetsu pulled on his shihakusho bottoms and carefully removed the slack bandages, grimacing as he did. There was little blood on the bandages, which he was thankful for, so Mugetsu shoved them under his bed before sitting on it.

Hunching forwards over his legs Mugetsu exhaled a deep, long breath closing his eyes slightly in agitation before grabbing the envelope. On the front his fake name was hastily written, but Mugetsu paid little attention as he opened it and pulled out a single sheet of paper, which read:

9:30 – 11:00 Extra Kido, Field KD1

11:15 – 12:45 Zanpakuto Meditation, Room ZH1

12:45 – 13:30 Lunch

13:30 – 15:00 Healing, Room KH2

He frowned at the rooms having little idea where they were so Mugetsu reached for his bag and proceeded to pull the map out of it. Searching for the rooms it didn't take long for Mugetsu to find where they were and when he had he quickly stuffed the papers into his bag. Standing up he pulled out his last set of clean bandages and began tightly wrapping them around his wound, hoping they'd be healed the next day.

Just as he finished putting the bandages on did the door to his room burst open to reveal Kouki. Mugetsu jumped in surprise and automatically took a fighting stance. Kouki frowned at him before his green eyes widened in surprise and worry about the bandages round his chest.

"What the hell happened to you?" He blurted before a smirk made its way onto his face, the shock slowly fading away.

"Nice to see you too," Mugetsu growled. "Knock next time."

"Charming, I just wanted to see what extras you had," Kouki replied, closing the door behind him.

Mugetsu recalled the short timetable and referred it to Kouki who nodded with a small smile.

"We've got two lessons together then," He smirked. "Kido and Zanpakuto meditation."

"You chose those?" Mugetsu pulled on his top and began to do it up as Kouki spoke to him.

"Yeah, although I'm good at kido, I want to be able to beat Byakuya one day. He's really good, so I'm practicing as much as I can," He explained. "As for Zanpakuto meditation, all 6th years are required to take it to improve relationships between master and Zanpakuto. Speaking of which, why'd you take it? You're only a first year."

"I guess I just wanted to get ahead and learn its name before everyone else," Mugetsu shrugged off the lie as he picked up his bag and started for the door.

"Are you still coming round tomorrow?"

"Eh, yeah," Mugetsu agreed as he inwardly hoped Bykauya wouldn't be there.

Kouki grinned, absentmindedly tapping the Zanpakuto Mugetsu hadn't noticed before. "Great! Byakuya might be there tomorrow, Grandfather said he'll probably come down for a visit. Maybe he'll teach us something!"

Mugetsu inwardly groaned wondering why he had such bad luck when it came to trying to avoid detection, or anything for that matter.

'**Enjoy being taught by Kuchiki, King.'**

'Screw you, Shiro.'

Shiro cackled, **'Don't forget our match later.'**

'I won't, 'cause I'm going to beat your ass.'

'**You wish king.'**

"Ready to go then Tamotsu?" Kouki asked from the door, snapping Mugetsu out of his inner conversation.

"Yeah, I need to grab some food first though," Mugetsu nodded as he followed Kouki out the door and to the canteen where he joined the others for food.

~/~

**Harribel, Hueco Mund0**

Harribel and her fraccion stared out over the never-ending sands of Hueco Mundo. The never setting moon hung in the sky, casting short shadows over the few landmarks it touched. In the distance they could see their old home, Las Noches.

"What do we do now?" Apacci pondered, while the others remained in silence, lost in their thoughts.

"We stay hidden, of course," Mila-Rose snapped, focusing her attention on Apacci.

The black-haired fraccion twitched, rounding on Mila-Rose and growling, "I know that. But what else?"

"You could do a few things for me," A feminine voice sang from all directions. The Arrancar tensed, hating themselves for letting someone sneak up on them.

"Who're you?" Harribel demanded, her voice calm despite the way she asked.

"A friend," A thin olive skinned woman appeared in front of them wearing a silky white dress. "Of Mugetsu's."

Harribel sent a look at her fraccion to tell them to be silent before frowning at the stranger, "How do you know him?"

"He saved my life a few nights ago," She replied in an equally calm manner. "Didn't he tell you?"

"No," Harribel murmured, making a mental note to pulverise Ichigo when she next saw him. "What do you want with us? Shouldn't you be out looking for him?

The woman smiled slyly before answering, "Oh, I know where he is. But I'm here to ask you to do something that will help him….eventually."

Harribel narrowed her eyes slightly, not trusting this woman and trying to figure out what her motives were. She claimed to know Ichigo, even knew where he was. But while Ichigo had never told them everything she couldn't help but believe what this woman was saying. Harribel mentally frowned at herself, since when had she been so quick to trust a stranger? It wasn't like her, but maybe she should see this through, it could lead them to Ichigo.

"What is it?"

"You're accepting?" The woman raised an eyebrow. "I thought I'd have to do more to convince you."

Harribel remained silent as she waited for the woman to continue.

"I need to you go round gaining the support of many different people. Mugetsu's going to need them because the chances are Shimi isn't going to be alone when he battles him," The woman explained.

"I'll give you what you need to make the journey doable, this," A white sack with a strange symbol on it appear in her hand, "Will have everything you need."

She pulled out a thin gold metal bracelet and threw it at Harribel, who caught it, "That will let you go where you need to. Just whisper the pantheon and it'll do the rest. There's enough of my 'reiatsu' to allow six trips."

Harribel slipped on the bracelet with an edge of caution, wondering what it was going to do to her and if this was all a trick. When the cool metal stilled on her wrist she felt a small tingle before it tightened slightly and a mark –exactly like the one on the bag- appeared in gold on her arm, just above the bracelet.

"That mark is so that people know you have permission to be in their pantheon and it translates your speech and theirs," The woman explained. "If you didn't have it you'd be killed on sight."

Harribel nodded in understanding, not like how much she had to rely on this stranger's trinkets in order to do what was asked of her. It made her feel vulnerable, it was almost like being back under Aizen's command. Even though she'd respected him, she doubted he valued them as much as he claimed.

"There's also a book, telling you who you need to visit. They should be expecting you," The woman pulled out three more bracelets and threw them to Harribel's fraccion who reluctantly put them on.

"Why must we do this?" Harribel asked, glancing away from her fraccion to the woman.

"I have other engagements." She dismissed Harribel's question and quickly moved onto something else, "Now one last thing, you shall not be alone in this mission," She let out a small hiss and the bag in her hand started moving. As it did a snakes head appeared out the top and flickered it tongue in her direction.

"It'sss time?" The snake hissed, shocking the group of Arrancar. Although, they didn't show it.

"Yes," The woman turned back to Harribel. "This is Draco, he'll smooth out any questions you may have."

"Pleassuree," Draco hissed, dropping from the woman's arm and sliding his way over to Harribel. "You'll be my carrier."

Glaring down at the snake Harribel voice her disagreement, "No. We'll do this mission but I'm not carrying him. He can carry himself, if not he gets left behind."

"Very well, Draco, come here," The woman called and the snake returned. When he reached her feet she murmured a few words that Harribel didn't understand before a small thread of gold left her hand and surrounded Draco. Harribel and her fraccion watched with mild shock as a small pair of scaly wings emerged from the snake along with two pairs of legs. Its main body thickened and expanded before the glow dissipated as quickly as it formed.

"Is that better?" The woman asked as Draco spent a few moments trying to gain flight. "I must go, Draco will tell you all you need to know. Please stay safe on your journey."

And without a moment to say anything in reply the woman promptly disappeared leaving the group standing in silence on a small sandy hill.

"We best move," Draco said, his voice no longer hissy and sly but a low rumble. He flew over to Harribel and after steadying himself he hovered just by her left shoulder.

"Why're we listening to this creep and his weird master?" Apacci fumed to herself.

"Isn't it obvious? So we can find Ichigo," Mila-Rose rolled her eyes before fiddling with the bracelet.

Apacci glared at her, "I knew that! But why not look for him ourselves?"

"If you'd use your brain you'd know," Sung-sun sighed, her curious gaze on the bracelet as she spoke. "He could be anywhere, and she just told us there are loads of pantheons. He could be hiding in one of those."

"Then why don't we forget the mission and use these bracelets to find him?!" Apacci retorted, "Or just not bother at all?"

"We cannot abandon him, he helped us without asking for anything in return. We should do the same for him," Harribel said, breaking up the small argument.

"Harribel-sama… but why does everyone hate him?" Apacci asked, the question having been weighing on all their minds.

Instead of Harribel answering Draco did, "Everyone was fooled by Shimi –Aizen's Hogyoku- and he's made them believe Mugetsu's been killing Nobles. You weren't affected because my mistress placed a ward on your house the night she arrived in your town."

"A ward?" Harribel mused, "I didn't notice it."

"You wouldn't, it's beyond your power and comprehension," Draco said flatly. "No insult intended, Mistress is a goddess."

"How did this trick work?"

Dacro let out a 'humm' before settling on Harribel's shoulder, surprised when she didn't shove him off. "It's difficult to explain, but…you know 'human virus'? This works in a similar way, Shimi was constantly emitting a type of memory altering spirit particle. It was a very powerful one and there are some who have a similar ability, but on a much smaller scale. Being the Hogyoku it was within his abilities to affect a multitude of people."

"Is there any way to reverse it?" Harribel asked, thinking about what he just said. If there were others with a similar ability then maybe there were people who could reverse it? Negate it's effects, but she doubted they'd have the power to. Shimi was the Hogyoku after all.

"Killing Shimi will wipe out the effects, although there may be other unwanted side-effects. We're unsure of them though," Draco said.

Nodding Harribel had a vague idea that one of the affects would be everyone forgetting Ichigo. She hopped it wouldn't come to that, he seemed to have been through enough already without having everyone he cared for forgetting him.

"Shall we begin?" Draco asked, floating off Harribel's shoulder. With a some grumbling Harribel's fraccion murmured their agreement as the ex-espada nodded.

"Good, first place is America, City of the dead," He declared and the arrancar all repeated what he said. As they did the bracelets began to glow and soon the group was overcome by the light. They felt themselves being pulled towards something and the closer they got the more their discomfort grew until it was no more. Nothing could be felt, nothing could be seen and nothing could be thought. But the sensation soon faded and they found themselves hitting cold stone ground, instantly telling them they weren't in Hueco Mundo.

~/~

**Mugetsu 11:30am**

To Mugetsu's delight Kido had finished. The lesson hadn't been bad, but his control wasn't getting better fast. Kouki had taken great delight in teasing him about how terrible his aim was and much to Mugetsu's chagrin he'd reminded him the Byakuya might be helping them tomorrow. Arata and Shizuko had been in the lesson too and had listened to Kouki teasing with small smirks on their faces.

Currently the three were trailing behind him as he made his way away from them, a scowl prominent on his face.

"Come on Tamotsu," Kouki called. "Just because you're not good at Kido doesn't mean you can't win fights."

"Yeah, you fought everyone in Hakuda right?" Arata added. Mugetsu inwardly groaned at the comment, why had Hitomi told him that?

"You never told me about that," Kouki frowned , faking hurt. "And I thought you were my friend."

Mugetsu rolled his eyes before muttering under his breath, "You just like Kiego sometimes, only more intelligent."

"Who's Kiego?" Arata asked, having heard him.

Grinning awkwardly Mugetsu scratched the back of his head, "Ohh..him? H-he was some guy I lived with back in 79th."

"I see," Arata murmured. "What've you all got next?"

"Zanpakuto meditation," Kouki said with a small smirk, which he cast towards Mugetsu.

"Same," Mugetsu admitted a scowl back on his face.

Shizukio and Arata both raised their eyebrows in surprise, and expressed their shock.

"I thought 1st years aren't supposed to take that yet," Arata rumbled.

Shizuko was softer in her speech, "Why'd you take that?"

Mugetsu shrugged, "I just wanted to get ahead, so I can become better and protect everyone."

"You work yourself too hard Tamotsu," Kouki clapping him on the back as they walked. "It's not like we're constantly under attack."

"I guess it's just habit," Mugetsu replied, flashing them a half smile before walking on ahead. The fact he'd constantly been under attack from someone weighed heavily on his mind. But it also surprised him, he'd barely gone a day without battling something or someone be it a hollow, a soul reaper or just a normal human. He didn't regret any of it though, it'd always be to protect the ones he loved and some of the times he'd even had his friends fighting beside him.

The sounds of the others talking about something drifted to his ears, but Mugetsu paid little attention as he wondered when he'd be hearing from Ananke. She'd said it'd be once a month but that was far too little. He was sure they would've found something by now.

Suddenly his thoughts were interrupted by someone he'd rather not talk to.

'**Don't forget our match today King,'** Shiro cackled to him.

'I won't. I'm looking forward to beating you.'

'**You wish King. You never know, if you lose I may just take over your body. It's not like you let me out that often.'**

'Screw you, bastard. I won't let you.'

'**Chill King, I'm just messing with you. We don't have the leisure to fight over control right now.'**

'Will you stop bitching if I let you out at night?'

'**Are you offering me a deal?'** Mugetsu could just feel the evil smile curling onto his hollows face.

'If you keep out of sight and don't mess with anyone, then I will.'

'**You do know how to ruin my fun.'**

'I doubt that's ruining your fun, he's being _too_ lenient with you.'

'**Shut up Tensa! You especially know how to ruin my fun.'**

'Because someone has to.'

'Can you guys argue about this later? Shiro I'll let you out each night if you leave _everyone_ alone and don't destroy the Academy-'

'**Fine, I accept.'**

'You've also got to take Tensa with you.'

'**What?!'**

'I am NOT a babysitter!'

'Deal with it, I'm not letting him run around without you keeping an eye on him.'

'Very well.'

'**D-Tensa! Don't just accept it!'**

'Anything to you ruin your fun,' the Zanpakuto let out a small laugh.

'**Why you!'**

'It's either that or nothing. Besides you already accepted.'

'**Fuck you, King.'**

Mugetsu let out an internal laugh before returning his attention to his surroundings. Just as he did Hitomi jumped in front of him, a frown on her face.

"Tamotsu! Why're aren't you walking with everyone else?" She said it in a scolding tone as she placed her hands on her hips.

"I was thinking," He focused a scowl on her as he answered her.

"You can do that in your own time, when you don't have us to liven up your day," Hitomi grinned, grabbing Mugetsu by the arm and dragging him back to the others.

"I supposed that's one way of putting it," Katsu muttered as he fell into step beside them, ignoring Mugetsu's scowl as he did.

"Well that's you isn't it Katsu," Hitomi quipped. "You're just a boring person."

"Just because I don't enjoy being constantly hyperactive doesn't mean I'm boring," He sighed. "Besides it not like you have a roommate that keeps you up until the early hours of the morning with his constant twittering."

"Oh?" She raised an eyebrow, "Who's your roommate?"

"You didn't know?" His expression hardened into annoyance, "It's Nori."

They stopped and both Mugetsu and Hitomi choked on air, startled by the revaluation. Hitomi's grip on Mugetsu faltered as she tried to stop herself from choking by patting herself on the chest. Mugetsu did a similar motion turning his now amused face towards Katsu, next to him Hitomi let out small giggles.

"It's not that funny," Katsu scowled. "I have to listen to him constantly going on about Tamtosu and how much of a loser I am for being his friend."

"Ha-why...ha-ha…didn't you tell us? Ha-haaa," Hitomi ended by drawing out the laugh and returning to her usually uncontrolled giggles.

Katsu gave her a deadpan look, "Because of exactly this situation."

Mugetsu's smiled twitched and he let out a small laugh, which only intensified when Katsu yelled at him for it.

"Right, that's it. Come here you two, I'm going to give you the beating of your lives," He glared at Mugetsu, "Top of the class or not."

Mugetsu and Hitomi both let out one last laugh before Katsu launched himself at Mugetsu, hit arms out stretched and ready to grab at the chortling albino. Mugetsu –despite his laughing- flash-stepped out the way along with Hitomi, momentarily surprising Katsu. Shaking the surprise off his face Katsu chased after them with his own flash-stepped, which –while it needed work- was very good for someone who'd only been doing it for a few lessons. Mugetsu downplayed his flash-step as usual, allowing Katsu to almost get him before speeding it up. Soon Katsu turned his attention from Mugetsu to Hitomi who wasn't moving as fast and within a few moments he tackled her to the floor.

Letting out a squeal as Katsu tackled her Hitomi beat at him to get off her, which he did just as Arata, Kouki and Shizuko arrived. The three had been just in front of the trio before Katsu had started chasing them, and had watch with amusement of the events that had unfolded.

"Looks like you've got to work on your flash-step Hitomi," Kouki smirked then looked at Katsu. "And you Katsu, Tamotsu was out running both of you, with ease."

The pair sent a scowl in Mugetsu's direction who held his hands up in surrender. Just as he was about to say something in his defence the sound of the bell reached them and he never had the chance as Kouki grabbed him.

"Time to go Tamotsu," He grinned as he bid the others goodbye before letting Mugetsu go and both made their way to their classroom.

~/~

**Harribel & Fraccion, City Of The Dead.**

The four arrancar glanced around their surroundings curiously. The tall dark-bricked buildings towered over them, so unlike the drab and plain home they were used to. The dark sky offered little light and they noticed that the streets were mostly lit by blue flamed torches. Far off in the distance they could see a very tall spiked structure which they guess was the capital of the City.

Stale air and a cold chill reached them, sending a small shiver down their spines. Something didn't feel right to them, they had a feeling something was watching them and whatever it was, was dangerous.

Sensing how tense they were Draco spoke up, flying to hover around Harribel's shoulder, "We need to find Phariseer. He should be in one of the more extravagant buildings near the main plaza."

"Where is this plaza?" Harribel asked, her eyes darting around the place as she tried to sense for any threat nearby. It was as if something was smothering her senses. She could feel someone watching them but couldn't pin point their location as she usually could, although she put that down to them being in a new place and that things probably worked differently. Her fraccion were equally on edge, more so than Harribel as they weren't as strong and didn't enjoy being almost completely defenceless.

"It's not far from here, a five minute walk if we ended up where I planned," Draco answered. Increasing the beat in his wings he drifted forwards down the empty wide street, "Come."

Harribel caught a few glances from her fraccion and gave them a nod to follow after Draco. With her arms crossed over her chest Harribel fell into step behind them as they all followed after the small flying reptilian.

The small street was long for one being so devoid of life. Blue torches flickered and flared, while the light taps of their feet echoed down the seemingly never-ending street. The four Arrancar could've sworn they saw the occasional pair of eyes floating in the darkness, or heard mutterings that were both low and high pitched.

Eventually they emerged out onto a much wider street and this time it was not devoid of life.

What shocked the Arrancar the most was the appearance of all the souls. They were all either a red, teal or white colour. The majority were teal while a few white figures huddled together and a single red one was surrounded by what they could only guess were guards. All the souls were pale in their colours and appeared to glide across the floor in a ghostly manner.

The street they floated across was brighter and the space was more open. Buildings only lined one side of the street, leaving one side with the view of the spire. Its multiple lights lit up the sky as well as the many blue torches which were scattered down the street. A few of the builds were run down but there were some which stood strong with their wooden-like structures. Harribel heard her fraccion quietly gasp in awe as they took in the exotic and foreign structures. Even she lifted her head up to gain a better look at the city.

"We don't have time to spare," Draco called as he flew ahead of them, drawing attention to them. "Sight-seeing can happen later."

Despite the groans of annoyance from her fraccion, they and Harribel followed after the small dragon, trying to ignore the chill that still crept up their spine.

As they continued down the street the souls began to pay them little attention, but it wasn't them Harribel was concerned about. She'd seen a few guards –all dressed in long ripped black robes with pieces of metallic armour positioned over the top–glancing in their direction, their hood covered faces obscuring what they could be thinking. It was only when they reached the wide square area of the plaza that one of the guards approached, although he was clearly of a high rank.

His ripped black robe hid the whole of his body from view as his determined step led him towards them. A small sickle hung on each side of his waist creating an eerie jingling sound with each step he took. Black pauldrons trimmed with faded gold encased both shoulders in their thick metal. Spikes protruded from both pauldrons and curved up and out, steadily emitting a slightly sinister aura. As he closed the distance Harribel heard a small jingle and moving her gaze back to the weapons at his hips. On a metal chain hung a small hourglass and a skull with what she could just make out to be the number five.

He stopped in front of them and spoke, his harsh hollow voice betraying nothing but annoyance, "I'll give you five seconds to tell me why you're here. No stalling and if you don't have a pass I suggest you start running."

Draco let out a low growl. The fraccion stiffened and their hands shot to their weapons. Harribel frowned behind her hair, her hands crossed over her front as she spoke, "Our business is our own. But we have permission."

Nodding to her fraccion they all held out their arms to show the golden mark of Ananke's. The Reapers hooded head moved as he studied each mark. Suddenly a boned hand reached out and grabbed Apacci's wrist. The other three Arrancar reacted instantaneously, drawing their zanpakutos and bringing them up ready to strike. In the same instant four more reapers appeared, all with weapons drawn as they all divided their attention between the Arrancar.

Tension hung in the air so thick that it could be cut with a knife. No one was willing to budge from their stance and no one would back down. Apacci was trying to pull her hand from the Reaper's grip but it was to no avail. He snarled at her and pulled her wrist closer before bringing up his other hand and dragging a boned finger along the mark while muttering something. As he did the mark shimmered and glowing ever so slightly.

Apacci's body tensed; fear running through it as her other hand itched for her blade. Draco glanced between the groups trying to find the best words to dispute the situation. He'd never been out of Ananke's realm as she'd only ever shown him the different world through visions and text.

"It is legitimate," The reaper announced calmly, unfazed by the multiple weapons drawn around him. The Reapers around him all nodded and replaced their weapons on their hips before inclining their heads to him and disappearing.

Mila-Rose and Sung-Sun looked back to Harribel for instruction, their instincts telling them to lash out. Telling them that the being in front of them was a threat to their existence, and he should be terminated. The instincts that made them what they were fought for control to which Harribel ignored and cautiously replaced her weapon in its sheath. The two fraccion repeated her action as Apacci wrenched her hand from the Reapers loose grip and took a couple of steps backwards.

"Captain Arnel Anderson of Squad Five," He rumbled. "To what do I owe the pleasure of Ananke's lackeys paying us a visit?"

"Mistress has demanded this mission kept secret," Draco growled as he floated near Harribel. "You are not to interfere."

Arnel let out a low snarl, "You're in my district and should it require me to, I will interfere."

"Hey!" Apacci growled causing Arnel's head to snap in her direction. Although she flinched Apacci's annoyance at the Reaper forced her to carry on, "I don't give a damn if you're a Captain, if you interfere with us finding M-" She stopped herself from saying his name before correcting her mistake, "If you interfere with our mission we'll hunt you down and rip you to shreds."

"Hold your tongue weakling," Arnel snapped. "You wouldn't last more than a second against me. Things run differently here and it would be best if you conformed to our rules, if not then we can make your life a living hell."

Her emerald eyes narrowing, Harribel didn't take kindly to someone threatening her fraccion. She'd always looked after them as they'd had to stick together if they were to survive and she wasn't going to let this Arnel talk to them like they were nothing more than trash.

"You will keep away from my fraccion," She warned, stepping forwards while she flared her reiatsu subtly. "Unless you want to be on the receiving end of my Zanpakuto."

Arnel turned his hooded face in Harribel's direction, sauntering forward so that he was less than a metre in front of her. A small chuckled rattled through him as he lifted his bony hand up to his hood and gripped the material. Harribel didn't flinch or back away as the black material became scrunched in his hands. The whole plaza seemed to fill with a deathly silence as Harribel held her gaze on Arnel.

He began to draw back the hood. The material slipped back, further and further until-

He stopped as a crash echoed on the other side of the plaza. Smoke was billowing around a building and Arnel wasted no time in leaving them to investigate.

But not before some parting words, "I'll be looking out for you. If any souls go missing you'll be the first on my list to eliminate."

A second after he left Harribel was about to ask Draco where the house they were visiting was when someone else approached them. It was another Reaper but his armour was different and there was no skull at his hip. A single red pauldron rested on his left shoulder, while a layer piece of red armour was wrapped around his chest.

"That was a close call," He sighed. "If I hadn't been looking for you then he would've reaped you."

Draco was the only one to speak as the Arrancar tensed around him, expecting another showdown, "Reap her? Who're you?"

"I'm Caden Garcia, Phariseer sent me to look out for you," He shrugged. "Good thing he did or you'd be a piece of soul putty in Arnel's hands."

* * *

><p>Next Time: These Small Hours Part Two<p> 


	41. These Small Hours Part Two

Sorry this took so long, but hey, here's the new chapter.

Thanks go to plainpain for beta reading :)

I own none of the rights to Bleach, those go to Tite Kubo.

'**Shiro'**

'Tensa

These Small Hours Part Two

* * *

><p>"I'm Caden Garcia, Phariseer sent me to look out for you," he shrugged. "Good thing he did or you'd be a piece of soul putty in Arnel's hands."<p>

"We can look after ourselves," Harribel frowned. She didn't want to depend on others to look after her; she never had and never would. Her and her fraccion would look after each other just like they used to, before Aizen came along and they were forced to join his cause.

Caden raised his hand in a gesture that said 'I give up', his sleeve slipping down to his elbow and revealing an old looking white bone. They were battered and chipped in a few places, leaving the surface uneven and rough. Noticing that his bones were exposed Caden quickly put him arms down and hastily tugged the sleeve down as far as he could. Studying the movement Harribel realised that he was feeling vulnerable with his body exposed, as if the thin cloth they wore offered more protection than it appeared.

"Y'know I just wish that for once –just once- Phariseer would send me to help someone who appreciated it," Caden complained, a low hollow growl lacing his voice. When no one made an attempt to say anything he sagged in defeat, "Fine, don't be thankful. Now if you would kindly move your asses and follow me, I'll take you to see Phariseer."

"That would be greatly appreciated," Draco said, his wise sounding voice soft and genuine.

He's gratefulness clearly didn't satisfy Caden as the reaper said dryly, "Great, I'm only just good enough for a lizard. Lucky me."

Draco's eyes narrowed in annoyance but he said nothing as he casually breathed out a small puff of fire onto Caden's back. The reaper noticed and stopped walking. He put his hand on his back causing the fire fizzed and hissed as water materialised at his palms, effectively putting out the small orange flames.

"Nice trick," He snapped before he continued walking across the square with the rest of them following.

~/~

**Mugetsu, 15:10, Academy**

"Hey, Mugetsu! Where're you going?" Arata called as a tired Mugetsu made his way across the grass, having just had a healing class. He was heading away from the Academy and towards the surrounding forest in hopes that he could find a secluded area to have an inner battle with Shiro.

Turning Mugetsu yelled back, "Uh, I've got something I need to do. Remember I told you I was meeting a friend today?"

Realisation dawned on Arata's face, "I remember! Sorry, I completely forgot. Is it someone you know from 79th?"

"Yeah," Mugetsu said, going along with what Arata was saying. "They're coming down to see what it's like at the Academy…"

"So they might join next year?" Arata asked; more to himself than Mugetsu as he added, "That'd be great, you could both tell us stories of what you guys got up to in 79th."

"They're not the kind of stories you tell for fun," Mugetsu said, keeping his voice neutral as images of his past flashed through his mind. As if he could tell _those_ events as stories, not only would everyone be horrified but he'd blow his cover. Backing away towards the forest he replied in a more friendly tone, "I've got to go, I'll be back later for dinner. Bye."

Before Arata could even formulate a reply Mugetsu had disappeared from view, leaving him curious as to what had actually happened in Mugetsu's past. A frown had eased onto his face over these thoughts, but soon disappeared as Arata had a feeling they'd all find out in due time.

~/~

Shunpoing as he jumped through trees, Mugetsu felt a strange sense of freedom and excitement. Here he was in the Soul Society, casually traversing through its forest, while almost everyone wanted his head on a plate. Although, he didn't find the whole experience thrilling, after all why would he enjoy everyone hating him?

The feeling of freedom while being hunted was something that Mugetsu couldn't describe but he felt ashamed about. He shouldn't be enjoying himself while his friends and family were out there, at the mercy of Shimi and his sick, twisted game, believing that he was some kind of murderer.

Kicking up the speed of his shunpo in frustration Mugetsu continued on for a few more minutes before he was satisfied that no one would find him as he remembered Ananke told him to remove at least one of the bands. He'd decided to take off the illusion one as it meant no one could find him via his spiritual pressure –if they could even sense it. The only issue he had with taking it off was not only that if someone saw him his cover would be blown but they would see his hollow mask, if it appeared that is.

**'It won't appear.'**

'Why?'

**'We're not fighting for control, are we?"** There was an edge to his voice that Mugetsu didn't trust, then again he never trusted his hollow. No matter what he said Mugetsu would take this battle as serious as all the others they'd had. His hollow wasn't one to be relaxed around.

**'I'm hurt king.'**

'As if you have feelings.'

His hollow gave no answer and Mugetsu guessed that his was saving it for the battle they were about to have. Mugetsu gave the area a quick glance around before settling his back against a tree and sitting on the floor. Shutting out the dim afternoon light Mugetsu closed his eyes and concentrated on reaching his inner world.

Opening his eyes, the usual blue skyscrapers greeted him, still stretching high into the sky unlike the time before his final battle with Aizen. Back then he'd had no hope. Everything had been submerged in water and he'd been downing in his own despair. But now that was no more, he knew he could make everything right now and when it was all normal maybe he could see his father and his sisters. They wouldn't know it was him, but talking to them -even if it was only brief- would be good enough for him. He'd visited them twice since returning, having little free time thanks to Shimi and trying to keep everyone safe.

"Ichigo," Tensa inclined his head, a small smirk evident on his face as if something as amusing to him. "You best hurry, he's getting twitchy.'

"Yeah," Ichigo scowled, not liking the smirk Tensa's face held. "Keep an eye on things outside for me will you?"

"Of course," Tensa agreed before vanishing. Ichigo clenched his fists, preparing himself for what was to come as he turned around to see his hollow. The white blade was already drawn, screaming for battle while it's wielder charged at Ichigo, barely giving him time to bring forth his own before they clashed.

The collision was as violent as always, his hollows constant rage reached him screaming at him that no matter how much they co-operated they would never be completely allies. Shiro pushed down on his blade, but Ichigo met him equally. The characteristic sneer curled onto Shiro's face and the hollow disappeared before Ichigo in an attempt to reach him from another direction.

Expecting this Ichigo met the second attack, pushing back with more force than his assailant and causing the metal the ring out a screech. With Shiro momentarily staggering Ichigo quickly brought his zanpakuto across, intent on catching the hollow in the side. The attack almost reached but Shiro blocked it at the last moment and reacted by aiming a kick at Ichigo's head.

Keeping pressure on the sword Ichigo removed one of his hands from the blade and caught the kick. He forced the limb down, tilting his body with it as he brought round his own kick into Shiro sending the hollow flying into the building.

Vibrations rippled out throughout the world of skyscrapers as one of them cracked under the impact. However, Ichigo had little time to watch it as he was already being attacked by Shiro. The hollow brought down repeated attacks with his sword and Ichigo met each one, backing up each time until he reached the edge. Ichigo stumbled, afraid that he would fall. It was only a split second that he stumbled before realising that he wouldn't fall.

That was all Shiro needed.

Noticing Ichigo stumble he smirked, bringing down his zanpakuto while releasing his own version of a Getsuga Tensho that hit Ichigo head on. He cackled loudly, stopping when he saw his own attack being met with another Getsuga Tensho. The smirk disappeared and half glad that it wasn't over already Shiro dodged around blue Getsuga Tensho and resumed his fight with Ichigo.

Their clashes were almost like a dance. A violent dance full of rage and hate that was mostly exhibited by Shiro, every swing he made was with intent to kill. Every kick he tried was an attempt to hinder Ichigo in his endeavour to win. Ichigo's own attacks appeared only to be to cripple. He didn't go for vital areas or Shiro and at times the attacks weren't as powerful as Shiro knew they could be.

This only made his rage grow.

**"Pathetic king," **He spat, brushing away one of Ichigo's kicks. **"I thought you were here to win. You came in here with the mind-set to win, telling me that you'd beat the shit out of me. Where'd that all go? What's got you so scared?"**

Mugetsu made no noise but a low growl that came with a stronger, more violent attack. Shrio just managed to block the frontal attack, locking them in a pushing war. His glaze opposite Ichigo's, he stared into the human's eyes in an attempt to find out why this was so easy. Then he saw it and realised it had been there since early on.

Fear.

Ichigo feared something. But whatever it was Shiro was going to beat it out of him, even if it meant defeating him. Doubling his efforts Shiro pushed more on Ichgio's blade causing the now red-ish eyes to narrow and their owner to push back before disappearing into a shunpo.

Shiro cackled, **"Is this how you planned the battle to be? If you don't try king I will crush you, and afterwards I may just show everyone how much of a murderer you can be."**

"Bastard!" Ichigo growled appeared with another attack that Shiro managed to block, only to get kicked in the stomach. "I won't let you."

**"Then stop being so afraid king! Or you'll lose everything," **Shiro snarled, glancing up to see that Ichigo had disappeared again. A smirk pulled onto his lips, this was what he wanted from Ichigo. A challenge. The way he got a reaction out of Ichigo didn't only suggest that he was afraid of losing to him, it told Shiro that Ichigo believed he would lose to Shimi. Almost falling off the edge of the skyscraper had reminded Ichigo of the times when he'd had no hope.

Turning Shiro sent out waves of energy in all directions, aimed at where Ichigo was and where he would be. The black haired reaper dodged around them all, his jaw tense, his mouth set into a thin line and a scowl hanging between his eyes. They both Shunpoed at the same time, meeting in the middle with a clash that created a crater below them and sent out a shockwave that shattered glass up the length of the tall building.

The tempo of the fight changed after that. It still had undertones of rage but on the surface they both appeared to have a mutual agreement that allowed them to tear and snap at each other until the other broke.

Punched and kicked where thrown, blocked and hit. Waves of black and blue energy decorated and destroyed buildings as well as hitting their intended targets. Blades clashed, sending sparks and drawing blood from each attacker. There was also a single occasion where Ichigo attempted to hit his hollow with a Kido but it only left the hollow laughing, which soon stopped when he got slashed across the chest.

As the battle drew to a close both combatants were tiring. Their breathes coming in short pants as they ignored the pain that coursed through their bodies as they readied for one last attack. Both raised their swords and charged.

A loud clang echoed out over the minds cape along with a hiss of pain and a sigh of relief. Grimacing Shiro looked at Ichigo, a mocking simile on his face appearing on his face.

**"Looks like you're not quite done yet."**

"No, I'm not."

Pulling the zanpakuto from Shiro's chest Ichigo stepped back from his hollow watching as the blood dripped from his chest and disappeared when it hit the skyscraper. He dematerialised the thin blade, noticing that as he did so his –and Shrio's- wounds were beginning to heal. When they'd healed Ichigo felt different, less stressed and much less on edge. He put it down to the fact that he'd once again defeated his hollow and reassured himself that Shiro wouldn't be taking over his body anytime soon. It was also nice to get some practice with someone who was at the same level as him, skill wise.

Focusing back on his hollow Ichigo frowned when he realised that he hadn't been wearing the mask. He'd been so caught up in the battle and his own thoughts that he hadn't noticed.

"Where's your mask?" He finally asked, only to receive a smirk in response before said mask appeared in the hollow's hands.

**"I wanted to fight you without it, see if it made a difference to me," **He shrugged uncharacteristically. **"It did."**

Going by Shiro's tone of finality Ichigo didn't bother trying to demand an answer as any question he asked would be rebounded. Although, he didn't need to ask to know half the answer. Shiro was likely to feel vulnerable without the mask as it was the armour against all emotions but rage, which was strange considering how much rage he'd been putting into his attacks. Maybe the frustration of feeling so vulnerable to emotion angered the hollow.

"You're easily distracted Ichigo," Tensa spoke from beside him, causing Ichigo to jump.

"Damn it, Tensa! Don't sneak up on me," Ichigo yelled in surprise, before turning a scowl onto the Zanpakuto.

Tensa sighed, clapping Ichigo on the shoulder as he did, "Don't get distracted then, it could be the difference between winning and losing."

"I know," Ichigo said, his scowl becoming a downcast expression; eyes looking down, mouth set into a loose line and brows slack. "I'll protect them all."

Tensa gave him a sincere smile and the proceeded to ask Ichigo if he wanted to spend the remainder of the day training so his skills didn't deteriorate. Without question Ichigo accepted the offer and spent an unknown amount of hours sharpening his combat skills with the help of both his zanpakuto and hollow.

~/~

**Academy**

Unknown to the lone soul reaper a few people back at the Academy were beginning to get worried and suspicious when they couldn't find him. The ones who worried were his new friends, while the more suspicious people were Mi Maeda and consequently the rest of his teachers, but it wasn't just them. Kabexnuf had also wondered where the albino had gone to, he had noticed the lack of his presence around his group of friends and had been curious as to where he'd gone. However, Kabexnuf's curiosity had been cut short when he'd got a message telling him that due to recent events the yearly meeting would be pushed up to that week and that it was his duty to tell the staff at the Academy while someone else told the Captain Commander.

Tugging at the confining material of the Academy uniform Kabexnuf made his way to the headmaster's office. He weaved around other students, ignoring their curious whispers and girly giggles. He didn't mind the fascination they held with him, but would've hoped that at the end of the first week it would all be over. A feeling of annoyance reached him from his Rohi-Saif and Kabexnuf promptly ignored his swords dark request.

Since unlocking the power inside him many, many years ago Kabexnuf had grown used to the demonic behaviour of his Rohi-Saif. When he'd asked his father about it the death God had simply given him a grim smile and told Kabexnuf that it was a burden they all undertook as being part of the Royal family. He'd never been told anymore then that as his father refused to talk about it.

Kabexnuf continued down the corridor and veered off down another corridor that was adjacent to the great hall. At the end of the short corridor Kabexnuf was met with a familiar pair of wooden doors that had a plaque with the words 'Headmaster Office' carved into it. Before knocking on the door Kabexnuf released a small sigh as he knew this wasn't going to go well. The Headmaster was stressed as it was, what with the new school year starting and the meeting that was supposed to take place in just over a week. The fact that it had been pushed up would only add to the pressure, but they could only blame the wanted criminal Mugetsu.

Because nobody wanted him to believe that they were afraid of him, it had been decided that they should bring it forward instead of postpone it, which in Kabexnuf's eyes was a terrible idea. Although it may be their intention to leave places weakened in order to lure out this Mugetsu Kabexnuf was sure there had to be other ways. It wasn't necessary to risk valuable members of the Royal households when they could capture one of Mugetsu's accomplices. When he'd asked, the idea had apparently been out of the question, to ridiculous to even consider and that worried Kabexnuf.

His mentor had always listened to what he had to say and had sometimes acted upon it, but this time it was obviously different. This was someone else's plan and Kabexnuf didn't completely agree with their method. When he'd asked –out of curiosity, of course- who had suggested the plan the only piece of information he'd got was a name.

Shimi.

He'd never heard of the reaper before. But he had no right to argue that with him mentor as it wasn't unheard of not to hear about a high ranking reaper, as they sometimes tended to keep to themselves.

Blinking himself out of his thoughts Kabexnuf knocked confidently on the wooden doors and awaited to hear himself be called in. When he heard the muffled yell of 'come in' from the other side of the door Kabexnuf gently eased open the door and crossed over the threshold into the room. Kabexnuf crossed the distance between the entrance and the desk before the door could even click shut.

Captain Ukitake –the Headmaster- looked up at him from the vast amount of papers on his desk. His skin was beginning to gain the pasty colourings of an illness and Kabexnuf wondered if he should get someone. After all, he'd heard about the Headmasters proneness to illness.

"Hello, Kabexnuf," Ukitake greeted, his voice kind and without the signs of illness that was showing on his face. "Is there something I can do for you? I don't think we have a meeting scheduled for another week."

"I apologise for interrupting your work Headmaster but this cannot wait," Kabexnuf said, bowing slightly. "The Royal Guard visit is being moved up to this week."

Ukitake's face was stricken with both worry and surprise before he composed himself, his voice with an edge of disbelief, "You are sure?"

Kabexnuf nodded.

"We are not ready," Ukitake slumped back in his chair. Weariness was creeping into his pale features as he thought of a way to salvage the situation they had now been put in. "I need to call a meeting, what day will they be visiting?"

"Friday."

"Thank you," Ukitake said, a small amount of relief in his voice. They still had a fair amount of time, everything would just have to be done doubly quick and he had a feeling Saturday lessons might have to be cancelled. It would be too much strain for the teachers if he had them working had all week and the students would be equally tired. But he couldn't just let them have the say of…unless…A thought hit him.

He'd give the students a study day.

Nodding to himself he looked back up at the exchange student, "I trust everything is fine with your studies?"

"Yes."

Not wanting to push the Egyptian for anything else as time was now of the essence -and he'd find it all out at their meeting–Ukitake politely dismissed Kabexnuf and a few minutes later sent a message out to the staff that there was to be an emergency staff meeting.

~/~

**Mi Maeda, Academy, 18:30**

Mi slid into her seat next to Ryo, placing her tray down on the table as she did. She'd chosen to have spicy-soba-noodles with chicken, instead of the vegetarian option that contained tofu instead of chicken. Breathing in the sweet, hot smell of her food Mi grabbed her chop-sticks and flashed a quick smile to Ryo, Eiji and Aika before she began eating.

Mi ate quickly, which concerned her friends as they'd never seen her in so much of a rush. They –like all the other teachers- knew that the Royal Guard visit had been pulled forward and even though they knew it would put considerable more stress on Mi, they didn't realise that she would ignore her own needs. Say having a slow, relaxing dinner. However, they did have to give her some credit, at least she'd turned up for her food.

In the past when they'd held huge events and had much work at the same time Mi had taken to her room for at least a week, therefor forcing her friends to bring her food and pull her away from her work for a break. The three soul reapers sent each other a worried look as they watched Mi wolf down her food, her bowl already half empty.

Replacing his own chop-sticks onto his tray Ryo gently touches Mi's shoulder causing her head to snap up. Her face showed signs of weariness and stress already, but it soon disappeared as she donned the mask of a smile like she always did.

"Mi," Ryo started. "You shouldn't strain yourself, if you need help with your work we'll help."

"I'm okay really," She replied, her voice only wavering a little. "Captain Ukitake had the work spread more evenly so I'm only left with finding 1st and 2nd years for Kido, which is easy because I teach the top classes for both. Aside from that there're only one or two small things that need doing."

"We could still help with the smaller things Mi," Aika chipped in. "We don't want you overworking yourself like last time."

Mi gave them another one of _those_ smiles; the ones that pretended that everything was fine and under control when it wasn't really.

"I'm fine really. So how's out strange student today?" She asked, changing the subject.

Deciding to let her get away with it for now, the others went along with her change in conversation.

"Haven't seen him since…." Ryo trailed off into thought before giving them an answer, "about three o'clock."

"Eiji?" Mi prompted, popping a few more noodles into her mouth.

"I saw him leave in a hurry around the same time as Ryo," Eiji murmured. "He appeared to be flustered or tense about something. He used a very good Shunpo to disappear," He looked at Aika, "I didn't realise they were progressing so quickly."

"They're not," Aika said. "And neither is he, what did it look like? And what was the distance?"

"I don't know about distance as I didn't see him appear again, but, it looked flawless and had I not been paying attention I probably would've missed it."

Shock filtered through the table at the revelation of this information; Aika's eye brows rose, almost disappearing into her hair, Ryo closed his mouth and remained silent for once, and even Mi stopped what she was doing to look at Eiji.

"It was that good?" Aika checked, still not believing a student could pull of a Shunpo that was 'flawless' in the eyes of Eiji. "You're sure?"

"I know what I saw."

"Sorry E, I'm not doubting you, but, I just can't believe it…" Aika rattled off, both annoyed and shocked that she had a student who hadn't been showing her his full potential. But why was he so good?

"Why's he so good at it?" Ryo asked, echoing Aika's thoughts.

"The black material?" Came the surprising contribution from Mi, who then continued, "Or maybe he had a mentor?"

Aika frowned, "He would've had to mention any previous tutoring if he wasn't from a Noble house. Everyone knows they all get taught a few things before coming here, but with others it's pretty uncommon."

"But not unheard of," Eiji added.

"Right, although maybe he just didn't mention it?" Ryo suggested, "He seems to have strange origins. The bands he wears, the black material, how he looks and acts. I heard that in Zanpakuto meditation his face kept twitching as if someone was annoying him."

"A spirit already?" Aika's voice let out a small squeak before she managed to get it back under control. "This could be bad."

"How?" Ryo asked, his voice curious but also laced with a small edge of fear. What would happen if someone so powerful managed to get a zanpakuto before they were supposed to? Even though it may not have been unheard of, no one had ever before been quite as powerful as Tamotsu. If not handled properly, the situation could go spiralling out of control.

"He may not be able to control it," Eiji explained. "If he can't control his power then many people could get hurt. Take what happened in Mi's class the other day; he thought he was casting a weak spell but it turned out to be much too powerful. With a zanpakuto it can only get worse."

"What about that black material? Didn't we think that was amplifying his power?" Ryo quizzed, poking the now cold food that was left in his bowl.

"Yes, it's likely that it is," Eiji admitted. "We need to remove it from him before it can do anymore damage."

"Aren't we going into this a bit hastily?" Aika asked, gaining everyone's attention as they looked her with slight confusion. "He may just naturally be powerful and all the gear he wears dampens his powers."

Before voice her new thought Aika had thought about it; about how his power felt when he was near. It didn't feel like it was being amplified, in fact there was something odd about it. As if it was being messed with, hence why she'd come to the conclusion of all his gear dampening his powers.

When her words hit the rest of the group, she could see a new perspective dawning on their faces and they all realised how narrow minded they'd been. They'd been so quick to condemn him as someone who wanted to get ahead by cheating. Shame was on their faces but it quickly disappeared off Mi's.

"But that doesn't explain why he's so good at everything," Mi said absentmindedly.

Aika's eye brows furrowed at that, they were back at square one. Why was he so good?

Before anyone could begin to come up with an explanation Mi almost jumped up in her seat, excitement in her eyes.

"That's it!" She squealed, mainly to herself rather than anyone else.

"Mi?" Ryo asked, concerned.

She quickly shovelled the remainder of her food into her mouth and when she'd finished chewing through it all she addressed her friends. "I have my two tour guides."

"Care to explain for those of us who don't read minds?" Ryo smirked.

Taking a swig of her water she grinned at them, "One of my jobs was to find a pair of tour guides -mainly a younger student and an older one- and, well, I overheard Tamotsu's friends talking about him going to Kuchiki manor with Kouki tomorrow… so I decided they could be the tour guides. Kouki would supply information while Tamotsu would give them a first year perspective and show them that we can produce strong soul reapers."

"You thought of that quickly," Aika commented with a smile.

"Well, I'd been thinking of it since I overheard his friends, who did sound worried about him," Mi paused, stopping midway of standing up. Lowering her voice her voice was barely audible as she spoke, "apparently he's been acting weird lately. Ever since he blew a hole in my Kido wall from what I could make out. One of them said they thought they could smell blood in their room but when they looked they found nothing."

"Really?" Ryo whispered back.

Mi nodded before giving them a simple goodbye and leaving for her room to continue her planning.

"Do you think something happened to Tamotsu?" Ryo asked Eiji and Aika, "Maybe someone attacked him?"

Eiji stroked his chin in thought, emitting a small hum, "It's possible. If you're good at everything then you're bound to make some enemies."

"But on the first week!" Aika stressed, reminding them that they hadn't even been back a week, although it may have felt like longer. "Surely things don't start happening that early?"

"You'd be surprised," Ryo muttered.

"We've been back what? Three days?" Aika started.

"Four," Ryo corrected her, earning a glare to which he held his hands up in surrender.

"Four days," She continued, "and someone already hates him?"

"Yep."

"What do you think E?"

"It's likely," Eiji confirmed. "You've heard about the friction between him and Nori Hojo, it didn't take long for it to form."

Ryo nodded in agreement, "Yeah, as soon as they met they didn't get along and that was on the first day!"

Aika stared at them and about to say something more when the object of their discussion came strolling into the Canteen, preventing them from talking about him any further. He looked tired and seemed to walk with a limp that they wouldn't have noticed had the not been looking for any sign of injury. It was only a minuscule flinch when he leaned to his side and each time he did, he covered up any pain with the scowl on his face. They continued to watch for a few seconds as he grabbed some food and made his way over to where his friends were sat. He sent a few smiles to each of them before his face set back into a scowl and he dug into his food, giving an occasional contribution to whatever conversation they were having.

The three teachers sent glances at each other, questions whizzing around their minds as they desperately tried to find an answer to why Tamotsu was different to all the other students. Little did they know that he was really from a future ridden with violence, war and loss. A future they'd all been saved from, but had no idea.

* * *

><p>Rohi-Saif - Soul-Sword in Arabic<p>

Remember, any questions -that won't reveal the plot completely- just ask :)

Next time: Taught By A Kuchiki


	42. Taught by a Kuchiki

Alright so here's the full chapter. Finally. I can believe it took me pretty much two months to finish it off. I'm pretty ashamed of myself, but I've been busy with uni and rowing :L

Not sure when the next chapter will be around, so I'm sorry in advance if it takes me ages again :/

Also, I wanna thank you all for your favourites, follows and reviews I really do appreciate them. I glad you're all enjoying the story.

This has not been betaed.

I own none of the rights to Bleach, those go to Tite Kubo.

'**Shiro'**

'Tensa

Taught by a Kuchiki

* * *

><p>After spending the majority of the day in the company of his inner spirits Mugetsu had made a speedy retreat back to the Academy in hopes of catching dinner before the canteen closed. He got a lucky break and was happy to find that not only was it still open but it was earlier then he originally thought. Everyone was still eating and a few people looked like they'd just arrived so he was glad to see that he wasn't the only one who was late.<p>

Mugetsu spotted his small group of friends, and after grabbing some food and a drink he joined them at their table in the centre of the room.

"Hey Snowy!" Hitomi grinned as he took his place at the table, "Where've you been all day? We've all missed you so much!"

"Hitomi's exaggerating as usual," Katsu sighed, a small smile on his face.

Mugetsu flashed them a small smile and a chuckled at Hitomi's dramatization, "I was out visiting a friend. Didn't Arata tell you all?"

Hitomi, Katsu and Shizuko all send Arata looks of confusion to which he almost jumped out of his seat, a shocked voice full of realisation escaping him, "Yeah! I completely forgot! Sorry, if I hadn't have forgotten I would've said something."

"It's okay Arata," Mugetsu said, before digging into his food as if he hadn't eaten in months. In a way it felt like it, he'd used up a lot of energy battling Tensa and Shiro in his inner world and with all the other activities he'd been doing he was ravenous.

"Long day, Tamotsu?" Katsu asked, a single eyebrow raised.

"Yeamm," Mugetsu mumbled in reply as he chewed on his food. The response earned a scowl from Arata, a roll of the eyes from both Katsu and Hitomi, but Shizuko's reaction remained a mystery to him as he was sat next to her and couldn't see her face.

"You could at least swallow first Tamotsu," Arata sighed, pointing a chopstick at him as the scowl lessened.

Mugetsu made a big motion of swallowing his food before addressing Arata sarcastically, "Yes, it was a long day."

A smile played at everyone's lips –even Arata's- before Katsu asked another question, "So what did you do that was so exhausting? If you don't mind me asking."

"Nothing exciting," Mugetsu shrugged, quickly thinking of something that wasn't too far from the truth. "We just talked and sparred. What about you guys?"

There were a few mumbles of reply that expressed some of the boredom his friends had gone through during the day; work, work and more work. After telling Mugetsu about the mountain of work they'd had all three of them smirked at him, knowing he'd have to cram in in somehow as they had heard about him going to Kouki's the following day.

The group continued talking about what they all planned to do the following day and multiple other things that seemed to make the time fly by. They spent so much time talking that they had to be kicked out of the canteen as it was closing for the day and it was only half an hour before lights out. Due to being kicked out of the canteen and finding that it wasn't long until they'd all have to return to their rooms, the small group decided to go their separate ways and retire to their rooms for the night.

With the door clicking shut behind them Mugetsu flopped onto his bed, his muscles relaxing into the soft, cushioning material of the covers. It had been a long day and he still had work to do that was in for Monday. He only hoped that he wouldn't be at Kuchiki mansion the whole day, not only would he not be able to stand Byakuya that long without falling into old habits, he had work to do.

"Oh yes!" Arata exclaimed at little bit too loudly, causing Mugetsu to bolt up in his be in surprise. The midnight-haired student flashed him a grin before pulling something out of his pocket, "I just remembered, Kuchiki asked me to give this to you."

He threw the item at Mugetsu, who leaned forward to catch it; noticing that it was a letter. He carefully pried it open and pulled out the small piece of folded paper inside. Discarding the envelope next to him Mugetsu briefly mulled over the fact that Kouki hadn't just told him earlier in the day. He quickly dismissed it, coming to the conclusion that he probably thought Mugetsu would forget so he wrote up the letter, which he probably planned to give to him later, had Mugetsu not been away. Snapping himself out of his thoughts Mugetsu unfolded the paper and read its small contents:

_Tamotsu,_

_ Meet me at the Academy entrance at 9:00am for a fun-packed day, full of excitement. Byakuya has told me that he's prepared to spend an hour –and no more- to train us. Unexpected really as he's usually rather dismissive of me because of how my father dishonoured the Kuchiki clan. But, that doesn't matter as I'm rambling. I shall see you tomorrow._

_Kouki Kuchiki._

Mugetsu supressed a groan, so Byakuya would defiantly be there and would be _teaching _them. He, instead, sighed, refolded the paper and replaced it back into the envelope it had arrived in and reclined back into the bed.

"Was it that bad?" Arata asked, noticing the flicker of annoyance that had appeared on Mugetsu's face, if only briefly.

"Not really," Mugetsu lied, a yawn escaping him. "I have to be up for quarter to nine at least and I was planning on sleeping in for longer."

Arata chuckled and Mugetsu heard rustling, which he presumed was Arata changing. As his roommate changed the warmth of his bed became more appealing and despite his best attempts to stay awake, Mugetsu found himself too tired and soon fell into a dreamless sleep.

Arata watched at his roommate fell asleep, the constantly haunted and scowling eyes relaxed and appeared to be content, as if sleep was an escape from his waking thoughts. He didn't know what to think of the albino, he appeared to grasp everything so quickly, unlike everyone else. He had a huge sense of responsibility for the protection of others, one that seemed beyond anyone else Arata had ever met. It also seemed to run too deep for someone who had lost people in 79th. Those who lived up there cared little for anyone else as there was a chance that if you woke up the next day, they may not be there anymore. Then there was what he'd found under his bed, the blooded Academy uniforms and bandages that had concerned everyone greatly when he'd told them about it. However, when he'd checked for them again they'd all gone; leaving no trace that Tamotsu had ever been injured.

There were so many things that didn't add up about Tamotsu; the random disappearances, his skill when it came to everything related to combat, his power that had shattered kido barriers, his attitude towards life and the occasional slip of the tongue that suggested he knew more than he was telling. But Arata didn't want to dwell on these thoughts; he didn't want to believe that his friend was hiding something bad from them. And while he understood that Tamotsu wouldn't just tell them everything, Arata liked to think that given time Tamotsu would divulge to them more of his past.

Arata pulled himself from his thoughts and threw his uniform onto the chair at his desk before scooping up Tamotsu's letter and placing it on his desk. As he did Arata decided it was best to set an alarm for quarter-past eight so that Tamtosu wouldn't be late.

After setting the alarm Arata truned off the lights and crawled into bed. He closed his eyes and after a few moments of sinking into the warmth of his bed Arata also fell asleep.

~/~

**Harribel, City Of The Dead **

"Welcome to Phariseer's palace," Caden announced as the group arrived in front of a large pair of double doors that were the entrance to an equally large building. The building hadn't been far from the main square and a deathly silence had fallen over the group throughout the whole journey.

"This place is almost as big as Las Noches," Mila-Rose observed, her eyes taking in the large brick building that held the same colours as everything else in the City of the Dead, teal.

"How observant of you," Apacci said snarkily.

A growl rose in Mila-Roses throat but a warning look from Harribel stopped any retort that she would normally voice, had they been under different circumstances.

"It is impressive," Caden commented before flicking his hand in the direction of the doors, which then slowly swung open with a creek. "Come."

Caden stepped into the large hallway and began walking quickly down the length of it. The room itself was much darker than the outside. Teal coloured torches lined the walls along with a few stoic guards who made no indication they were surprised about the presence of four Arrancar and a dragon, as they continued to face forwards with their hoods covering their faces. There was something about the place that set Harribel on edge. It sent chills up her spine and it felt like something other than the guards was watching them, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

Off to the sides there was many doors, each leading to multiple different places in the palace and it left Harribel wondering why this Phariseer had need for so many rooms. He wasn't building an army like Aizen was and he didn't appear to be the Captain of a squad like in the Soul Society. But, that didn't mean he didn't already have an army, the amount of guards she'd seen so far only told her that there were many more.

At the end of the long ragged carpet they walked on was another set of doors. They were smaller than the others but they weren't any less grand. On each door there were golden skeletal figures, both appeared to be looking at a pair of golden scales which were placed at the centre of the doors. The scales were uneven and on one side there was a wisp of glowing white-teal, while on the other side there was nothing. The carving of the uneven scales appeared to lean towards the side of the wisp and Caden, noticing this, made a comment that left Harribel slightly confused.

"It appears today is another bad one," He sighed, looking up at the scales.

"What do you mean?" Harribel asked, curious.

Caden turned around and began his explanation, pointing to the scales as he did, "Those scales represent how the majority of souls of this day have weighed. As you can see most of the ones today have weighed heavy, judging them to be bad and then sending them to hell."

"A crude manner of judging souls," Draco snapped.

"You want to do better Reptile? Go ahead," Caden growled. "We've stayed loyal to our traditions since the beginning of time. Don't tell us how to do our job, we try and be as fair as we can but some are not worthy of our forgiveness."

"So you leave them to remain in Hell forever more? At least we give them a second chance-" Draco began to retort but Harribel cut over him.

"We're not here to argue the differences of your practices," Harribel said, her patience wearing thin. She wanted to get all this running around done, and return to looking for Mugetsu.

"Indeed," Caden said absent-mindedly. He turned away from Harribel and his voice began to echo around the large stone room as he murmured words that were incoherent to the group behind him.

Suddenly a rumble ran along the walls as the doors slid apart. They disappeared into the walls, leaving the room in front of them in view. It was in a similar style to the room before; large, spacious and filled with Grim Reapers. However, it appeared these Grim Reapers were not merely guards as each of them were accompanied by the same teal colour people they'd seen outside. A few of the hooded reapers turned in Harribel's direction and when they noticed Caden they promptly turned back to what they were doing and appeared uninterested.

The attitude confused Harribel in a way. They acted as if Arrancar visiting were a regular occurance and they didn't instantly jump into a battle with her and her fraccion. With her arms crossed over her chest Harribel frowned to herself before deciding to satisfy her curiosity.

"Why do you not attack us?"

As Caden answered they continued to walk, "While we have our own versions of Hollows, many of us believe that if the Hollow itself has proven that it is no longer driven by its hunger for souls then we don't instantly hunt it down. We're still wary but we're more tolerant than other Pantheons, you would not have the same freedom in other places such as the Greek one."

"I hope that was not another jibe at my home Reaper," Draco snarled as he drifted next to Harribel.

"What if it was, reptile?"

A low growl escaped the small dragon but he had no time to voice his displeasure as they'd reached their destination. Harribel stopped just behind Caden and looked up to see a Grim Reaper stood behind a pair of scales that were placed on a black wooden table. Next to him was a soul that was intently watching as a red object was being weighed on the scales. Caden held up his hand for them to be silent and they all watched as the scales met out judgment on the soul.

It didn't take long and after a few seconds the object weighed heavy. The soul next to the Reaper let out a howl and began pleading with him to do it again, only to be rejected. A crestfallen look overtook the souls face and before they could open their mouth to speak chains appeared from the floor and dragged it down. That was when Harribel realised that the soul had been condemned to Hell.

Her gaze flickered to the Reaper, and even though she could not see his face she sensed a mixture of anger and sadness radiate from him. The sadness soon vanished however and left only anger coursing through the Reapers frame as he picked up the red object and squeezed it into nothing. Finished with what he was doing he strode around the table and positioned himself in front of it, propping himself up against it as he quickly took in those before him.

"You are the ones Ananke sent?" He asked, his rough and hollow voice holding a tint of the anger from within.

"Yes Sir, they are," Caden answered for them, unaffected by the anger that had set her fraccion on edge. All three of her fraccion had tensed up, the power of the one in front of her was likely to be uncomfortable for them. But not only was it just that but the fact that they were in an unknown place where they had no idea what the rules were.

He turned to face Caden, "I trust there were no complications."

"Nothing that I couldn't handle."

Harribel could hear the smirk in his voice, "Good." He paused, "Now shall we get down to business?"

"Let's make this quick," Harribel said, the others nodded in agreement before waiting for the Reaper to make move.

He indicated to a single door that was hidden in the darkness behind them, "Follow me and we shall discuss this matter away from prying eyes and those who would listen in."

A mixture of bone and cloth could be heard padding against the floor while they all made their way to the door. When they'd almost reached the door it swung open of its own accord, granting them access to the room beyond.

The Grim Reaper stopped as they crossed the threshold and without turning to face them he said, "If you hadn't already guessed, I'm Phraiseer. Nice to meet you, Tia Harribel."

~/~

**Mugetsu, 8:15am, Academy**

The sound of beeping riled Mugetsu from his sleep but it soon stopped, leaving him thankful to whomever had ended it. Just as he was about to fall back into the warm, comfortable sleep he'd been pulled from, a hand latched onto his shoulder and started to shake him. Mugetsu groaned and attempted to swat the hand away, protesting that it was too early to get up and he was still tired. The owner of the hand sighed before ripping the duvet away from him and exposing him to the colder air of his dorm room.

"Time to get up Tamotsu," Arata sang from the end of his bed.

Grumbling out a reply Mugetsu slowly rolled himself over and sat up so that his legs were dangling off the edge of the bed. Leaning over his legs Mugetsu rubbed the base of his eyes and said nothing as his mind slowly awoke. He found it strange how he missed the old way he used to get woken up. He hadn't missed his Dad's over the top ways of waking him up so much when he lived with Harribel, her fraccion and Rukia as there had been some degree of similarity; Harribel would yell at him and then if he didn't get up Rukia would _make_ him. But, here it was different. Arata wouldn't yell at him or attack him as he slept, the most he'd do is pull the cover off him. Now that he thought about it, Mugetsu missed the old ways he used to get woken up. Sure his Dad was annoying and an idiot, but, that was his family.

The thought of him family briefly shot through him, leaving him feeling empty. He missed them, had been missing them since he'd come back in time but it hadn't been so bad. He'd seen the occasional flash of black hair that was Karin's or heard a whisper of Yuzu's voice. However, now he regretted not going to see them when he'd had the chance. Mugetsu scowled to himself. He would see them again soon and then he'd be satisfied. He hoped, as they weren't his sisters.

"Don't think too hard, you might pop a brain cell," Arata smirked, causing Mugetsu's scowl to be aimed at him.

The midnight haired boy chuckled lightly, "I'm only joking. It's not like you have any to pop."

"Why you!" Mugetsu growled half-heartedly. He got up and darted towards Arata with an air of mock anger.

Arata let out a small shriek before jumping around Mugetsu, who had he wanted to could've caught Arata mid jump. Instead, Mugetsu allowed Arata to jump around him and dart out the room, which was exactly what Mugetsu wanted as he needed to check on his wound.

Shutting the door behind Arata, Mugetsu quickly tore off his uniform and threw it onto his bed. He then grabbed another set from his cupboard. As he did Mugetsu noticed that it was the last set and made a mental note to find a clean set as well as to stop wearing them to bed. He looked down at the bandaged wound that no longer hurt or bled –thanks to the ointment. He also realised that he couldn't change them for a clean set as he had no more. But, thankfully it appeared he wouldn't need to, as despite Apophis' power that somehow stopped his hollow's regeneration the wound was healing nicely and would continue to unless it got knocked.

A knock at the door launched Mugetsu into action and he quickly pulled on a clean set of uniform before pulling open the door. The grinning face of Kouki greeted him, but the grin soon turned into a frown as he took in Mugetsu's attire.

"You're wearing your uniform?" He asked.

Mugetsu shrugged, "Figured I would, they're the only proper clothes I've got."

"I see, well I heard Byakuya used to do the same," Kouki returned a shrug. "I take every opportunity to not wear the uniform."

"Ready to go then?" Kouki continued, starting towards the door. As he moved towards the door Mugetsu noticed a zanpakuto hanging at Kouki's hip, its red sheath stark against the white shihakshou that was almost completely covered by a deep red cloak.

"Yeah," Mugetsu answered following after him. "Do you know its name?"

"My zanpakuto? Yes, it's called Reddomisuto," Kouki said with a small smile. "Got her last year, can be a pain but she tends to keep to herself most of the time."

"Yeah," Mugetsu chuckled, knowing how annoying his inner spirits could be. "You'll get used to it."

"I guess I will," Kouki replied before picking up the pace, "Come on, we need to get there quickly."

"Aren't we early?"

"Yeah but I decided that we'll eat at the manor."

Mugetsu scowled a little but agreed without hesitation. Satisfied that everything was as it should Kouki and he made their way out of that Academy and towards the Kuchiki manor.

~/~

The it didn't take long to get there, but by the time they did Mugetsu was starving and much to his chagrin Kouki decided that he wanted to introduce Mugetsu to his grandfather first.

"Hey Grandfather, this was the student I told you about, Tamotsu," Kouki said as they walked up the elder Kuchiki who was currently stood on the veranda that surrounded the garden.

The old, white haired Kuchiki gave Kouki a warm smile, "It is nice to see you are as energetic as always Kouki, I trust your studies are going well?"

"They sure are."

"Good," He nodded, satisfied with the answer. It was then that he decided to turn his attention to Mugetsu, noticing the way the boy held himself; as if something would attack him at any moment and the hard look in his eyes that Genrei believed someone so young shouldn't have. "It is good to see that Kouki is making an impression on the younger students," He looked back to Kouki. "I only hope that it is a good one."

"Why ever would you say that?" Kouki said with mock surprise in his voice.

Genrei merely gave Kouki a stern look before speaking again, "You two best be going, no doubt you've got lots planned. Byakuya may be able to spare some time for you too."

"Sure, see you later Grandfather," Kouki grinned before pulling Mugetsu in the opposite direction before he could even formulate a goodbye.

After being dragged half way across the manor Kouki had finally allowed Mugetsu to grab something to eat. Although the strange noble gave Mugetsu little time to eat his meal before whisking him off to the sparring room. It was in that plain wooden room that he told Mugetsu that they'd spend the first half of their day.

A pair of wooden swords hung on a rack among other wooden, practice weapons. Kouki slid the door shut behind him and motioned for Mugetsu to stand in the centre of the room while he deposited his zanpakuto by the weapon rack. With that done he made his way back to Mugetsu and before long the pair were trading blows with each other.

Mugetsu played down his abilities, making mistakes in his technique here and there to ensure Kouki didn't grow suspicious of his high level of skill. Despite it being harder for Mugetsu to make the mistakes than do the techniques properly, it worked in his favour. Whenever Mugetsu would attempt to mess up he would either do it wrong as he intended or, do it wrong anyway but not in the manner he intended. Either way it was enough for Kouki to make comments about how he could improve.

One thing that did disappoint Mugetsu though, was the lack of personal touch Kouki gave to his attacks. They were all very good, almost exactly like they were written in a text book. But that was the problem. In a real hand to hand battle his enemy would sooner or later find it easy to exploit the 'by the book' way of Kouki's attacks. But, Mugetsu decided to refrain from saying anything about Kouki's technique during their sparring matches and instead decided that he way off-handily mention something later.

And so they continued.

They had many hand to hand matches. Both of them ended up getting so carried away that they barely noticed someone strolling in the room just in time to see one of Mugetsu's well-planned failures. Of course the newcomer was a well-trained soul reaper –a captain at that- and noticed something was off about the 'mistake' his cousin's opponent made. But, he said nothing and watched as Kouki promptly floored his opponent after grabbing the badly thrown punch and kicking out at the unstable stance they boy had put himself into.

"Nice try Tamotsu," Kouki said, giving Mugetsu a hand up. "But your punch and stance was off again."

Mugetsu scratched his head in embarrassment as he chuckled nervously, "Damn it, I was sure I had it right that time." Mugetsu looked over Kouki and saw, to his amusement, that Byakuya was stood at the doorway, "Oh hey, By- Kuchiki-sama." Mugetsu inwardly cursed at himself but was glad that the pair appeared not to notice as Kouki was too busy already asking Byakuya if he could give them Shunpo lessons. However, Mugetsu didn't fail to notice the slight twitch of Bykauya's brow at his greeting. Mugetsu stowed a smirk at that, just like old times. Anything he did used to rile the noble and the reaction always amused him.

"-so I was wondering if you had time to teach us something because your one of the best people in the whole Seireitei," Kouki continued his ramble and Mugetsu watched in surprise as a _very_ small smile crept onto Byakuya's face before it disappeared as he spoke.

"I gave you my word that I would teach you," Byakyua confirmed.

"I know, but grandfather said that you were busy," Kouki said.

Byakuya gave a small incline of his head before speaking, "I have time but then I must return to work."

Kouki flashed Byakuya a smile before he led both him and Mugetsu out to the garden where they started working on their shunpo. When they first entered the garden Mugetsu had to stop himself from inhaling sharply as he remembered the day that Rukia had been killed. Fortunately, he was glad that no one noticed his brief change in his demur. He was also glad that the garden had been repaired so promptly as he wasn't sure if he'd be able contain his reaction. Instead of doing anything that would draw attention, Mugetsu's jaw briefly clenched as well as his hands balling into fists. Both were an attempt to keep within him the feelings of failure he'd felt that day when he'd arrived too late to save Rukia; the fact she was still alive now was beside the point.

During the beginning of their session, Mugetsu had to force himself not to act as he usually did around Byakuya –'informal' and 'disrespectful' as the noble had once commented. He found easy to begin with, but as their lesson went on he found old habits worming their way into his speech. Thankfully Zangetsu and Shiro kept an eye on what he was saying but that didn't stop him from remembering the images of a beaten and torn up Byakuya who'd taken on Yammy with Kenpachi, something that still surprised Mugetsu today.

"Come on Tamotsu, you keep doing the same mistakes," Kouki called out as Mugetsu yet again messed up with his feet. Byakuya was stood in front the veranda so he could easily watch both of the students at the same time. The passive look on his face twitched only slightly at Kouki's comment before his eyes flickered to the way Mugetsu had purposely positioned his feet.

Laughing the comment off, Mugetsu feigned surprise and yelled back, "Damn it! You should've told me earlier."

"I did," Kouki deadpanned. "But, you weren't listening. _Again_."

_Must've been talking to the others_ Mugetsu thought, scratching the side of his head before replying to Kouki, "I was concentrating."

"While it is good to ensure you get the technique right," Byakuya began. "You should always pay attention to those around you."

Biting back any usual retort he would've aimed at the noble, Mugetsu calmly stood there like a good student and replied placidly, "yes, Kuchiki-sama."

As Mugetsu continued doing a slow and as amateurish shunpo as he could, Kouki went over to Byakuya and began conversing about something that Mugetsu was unable to hear. From the way they were glancing at him, Mugetsu had a feeling it was about him. A small amount of worry crept through him as he pretended not to notice and he continued to shunpo shot distances around the garden.

When he landed at one point, he snuck a look towards them and caught Byakuya with a frown on his usually passive face. Mugetsu didn't have time to looked at Kouki before he made himself stumble into another shunpo.

The next time he appeared out the shunpo he found that they'd both disappeared. Unease crept over him and Mugetsu tense up just as a Kouki appeared in front of him. Acting on instinct he shunpoed to the side in an instant; barely managing to keep the technique looking amateurish. However, he had little time to think over it as Byakuya appeared behind him. With little time to think it through Mugetsu shunpoed away, but made himself trip up on the landing.

He hit the ground hard and proceeded to roll a few meters before his body stopped face down on the ground. Groaning for emphasis he rolled onto his back and shot a confused look at the approaching Byakuya and Kouki.

"I was told that you've been seen shunpoing well under pressure," Byakuya explained calmly. "It appears true."

Feigning confusion Mugetsu scratched the side of his head, "Really?"

"Yeah," Kouki agreed with his cousin. "You reacted much quicker too, although the trip at the end ruined it, but we can fix that."

"Well I wasn't expecting Captain Kuchiki-sama to appear behind me right after you," Mugetus smirked as he flashed his friend a look that said 'I'll get you for that later'.

Kouki grinned accepting the silent challenge before turning to his cousin, "Thank you for your help Byakuya-san."

The ever stoic Captain said something about returning to his work before he quickly shunpoed away. Kouki and Mugetsu said nothing for a moment before the agreed to continue practicing. As they practiced they both took it in turns to chase each other. During their game Mugetsu was constantly being caught while he only managed to capture Kouki a couple of times. The pair were so caught up in their game that they did not notice Byakuya and Kouki's grandfather watching them occasionally. Both believed there was something strange about Mugetsu, but they decided to leave it be as the boys practiced for most of the afternoon.

~/~

**Harribel, City of the Dead**

Harribel wasn't surprised that Phariseer knew who they were. It appeared that Ananke had forewarned him about their arrival and Harribel had a feeling it would be the same for all the other places.

Phariseer's armour was similar to Caden's in a way. It was the same red colour and encased his abdomen while there was a single pauldron sat on his left shoulder. However, that was where the similarities in their armour ended. The armour all had a gold trim and he had more of it laced around the base of his neck. The pauldron, like Caden's, was thin and not as bulky as the other Arnel's. It made Harribel wonder what kind of a squad they were and as she took in the light looking armour the word 'stealth' came to the forefront of her mind. Then, something behind him caught her attention and her eyes widened when she realised what it was.

Phariseer seemed to notice, a small laugh escaping him before he spoke, "It seems you've noticed them."

As if he was pointing to them, the skeletal wings that extended from his back flared out to the sides. The golden scales, skull and a pair of swords that hung at his hip collided quietly with the movement. The wing's bone was severely chipped in places, which made them look ancient and fragile. It was then that she noticed the sharp spikes protruding from the tips of each bone and Harribel realised just how menacing these things could be. But, could they fly? Harribel very much doubted that. She couldn't see a purpose for them apart from combat and even with the spikes, they'd probably get in the way.

"Ha! What's the point in those? You can't even use them to fly" Apacci snickered without thinking.

Sung-Sun sighed, her mouth covered with her sleeve as her eyes gave Apacci a look of disdain. "don't you know when to remain quiet? You only make a fool of yourself by speaking before…thinking. "

"Why you little b-"

Apacci stopped herself when she noticed to look that Harribel was giving her.

"My apologies Harribel-sama," she muttered, sending a glare in Sung-Sun's direction.

"If you're quite finished," Phariseer said unamused by the fraccions antics. Harribel herself wasn't pleased with them either. While she usually didn't mind their arguing, they weren't normally trying to negotiate with someone. She made a metal note to have a word with them later about their behaviour.

"To answer your earlier question these wings are a way of showing power," Phariseer explained. "The more filled out the wings are, the more powerful the person. As you can imagine our Commander wings are fully formed and he's the only one to reach that stage in many years. Anyway, you're not here to hear about our ways. You want my help to defeat this Shimi, yes?"

"That's right, we were told that we'd have to do something for you."

"Just a little test, nothing to worry about," Phariseer said dismissively. "What I want to know is more about this Mugetsu."

Harribel and her fraccion tensed up at that remark. Quickly schooling her features, Harribel asked in a neutral voice, "Why do you want to know about him?"

"If I'm helping someone it's only right I know who they are," Phariseer reasoned. "I'd also never heard of Mugetsu before a few days ago when our Commander was sent to capture him. I also know he's now one of the most wanted people in the world."

Harribel frowned, "If you know that, why do you want to help him?"

"I was rather close to the Commander and the last message I received was about Mugetsu being innocent. Since then I've not heard from the Commander; no one has. So, here's my test," Phariseer started as he gently removed the scales and skull from his hip. Gesturing for them to follow him, he made his way to the centre of the teal lit room. At the centre of the room they came to a large circular table made from stone. Most of the table was covered in papers, which had notes scrawled all over them. Pushing some of the papers out of the way Phariseer placed the scales on the table.

"I want all of you to pick a memory of this Mugetsu, any memory, and put it into this," He held out the skull towards Harribel. "It doesn't matter what memory you pick, just as long as you believe it shows who Mugetsu truly is. I'll then weigh it on the scales, which will determine whether or not it is worth putting my resources towards his cause."

Tentatively Harribel took the skull from Phariseer. She wasn't completely sure about this, but there was little she could do as Mugetsu needed all the help he could get. Giving in Harribel pulled up the memory of Mugetsu when he'd asked them if they wanted to leave with him to the world of the living. The memory was full of his compassion towards them when they were only strangers. When she was done she passed the now dimly glowing skull onto Mila-Rose who did the same. The skull's glow got brighter as they all added their memories and when they were done Phariseer gently placed it onto the scales.

At first nothing happened and Harribel sent a questioning glance to Phariseer. However, the Reaper had his back to her as he stared at the scales. She was about to ask something when she caught movement out of the corner of her eye. Turning, she to found Caden bringing a bony finger in front of his hooded face in a 'shhing' motion before he pointed back to the scales. Heeding his actions Harribel returned her attention to the scales, which –to her surprise- now had a black-blue ball on the side that had been previously empty. Occasionally the ball would spike and shift as if it was alive, but that wasn't what bothered Harribel. Arms dropping to her sides she realised that the ball had a similar signature to someone she knew; someone they all knew. Mugetsu.

~/~

**Mugetsu, Kuchiki Manor**

Mugetsu was in mid shunpo when something strange happened to him. A strong force hit him, knocking all his strength out of him and he found himself unable to follow through with his shunpo. The result was him crashing hard into the ground of the Kuchiki garden. Severe exhaustion overcame him as he flopped onto his back panic in his mind as he wondered what was happening. He had no time to ask the others as Kouki shunpoed right next to him. Looking up at the noble took a lot of effort, but when he managed it he could see the concern etched into the boys features.

"Tamoutsu! Are you okay?" Kouki gasped, crouching down next to him.

Mugetsu managed a smirk, "I'm fine, just tired I guess."

It appeared that Kouki wouldn't be placated so easily. With a frown on his face the noble replied, "I don't think you're just tired. You were fine a moment ago, but now I can barely feel your spiritual pressure!"

Mugetsu's smirk turned into a scowl as he wondered how it had managed to drop. He'd never had problems like that in the past, it had always been the opposite. What the hell was going on? Moving to sit-up took a lot of effort and noticing the Kouki frowned.

"I don't think you should be moving," he said disapprovingly. He looked like he was about to say more when just as quickly as it'd gone, Mugetsu felt his spiritual pressure -and with it his strength- returning. Kouki seemed to notice it too.

"I wonder what that was about," he commented as he got up, offering Mugetsu a hand as he did. Not wanting to accept the help Mugetsu got up on his own, wondering the exact same thing as Kouki. He knew the others didn't know as they were both rambling about what had just happened; with Shiro being more vocal than Tensa.

"I guess I just overexerted myself with that last shunpo," Mugetsu shrugged as he told his inner spirits they'd discuss it later. Kouki didn't say anything more about it. Instead he glanced up at the sun and the back at Mugetsu.

"Let's take a break, I think everyone else will be having lunch soon," he said with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. Mugetsu had a feeling he was still think about what just happened. He hoped that Kouki wouldn't mention it to anyone, but knowing his luck Mugetsu was sure he would.

It was a second later that Kouki's words dawned on him. He was going to be eating lunch with the Kuchiki's. Trying to suppress the twitch that usually occurred on his eye-brow Mugetsu inwardly yelled. Both spirits reacted, but Shiro was louder about the amusement he found in Mugetsu's predicament.

'**This'll be great! Remember to behave yourself king!'**

'If you do anything I swear I'll-.'

"Tamotsu? Are you okay?" Kouki's concerned voice interrupted the treat he was about to deliver to the hollow.

Blinking, Mugetsu focused on the black haired boy who was stood before him. His eyes filled with trepidation for Mugetsu, which seemed to disappear as soon as he realised he was okay. All this concern that Kouki exhibited shocked Mugetsu as well as made him feel ridden with guilt. He hadn't expected to get close to people so quickly and given that it was a friendship built on lies, it only made him feel worse.

"I'm okay," Mugetsu finally said, flashing Kouki a smile. As he did his inner spirits made a few comments about making it rain, which made him snap out of his guilt.

Kouki didn't seem convinced, but he didn't push the matter as he led Mugetsu away from the garden and into the manor. The interior of them manor itself was grand and despite being here a few times before, Mugetsu hadn't realised how big it truly was. Kouki led him down multiple well lit corridors, which consisted of cream coloured panels boarded with wood.

When they came to a stop Mugetsu was surprised to find that the room they were outside of was not where they would be eating. Instead, when Kouki opened the door, Mugetsu found that it was a spare room. Against one wall there was a reasonably sized wardrobe as well as a bed being rolled out in the centre of the room. Scowling, Mugetsu was about to ask Kouki what was going on when the noble beat him to it.

"There should be a clean set of clothes in here," he explained as he walked over to the wardrobe. After a few moments of rifling around in the wardrode, the young noble sighed as he pulled out a black kimono; one eerily similar to a shihakusho.

"I'm not wearing that," Mugetsu said quickly.

"It's all there is that would fit you, the white one must be dirty." Kouki brought the kimono over before pointing out, "You can't wear what you're wearing at the moment, it's dirty."

As Mugetsu glanced down he couldn't help but agree with the noble. His uniform was covered in a layer of dirt from the hard practice they'd been doing all day. Glaring back at the black kimono he reluctantly held out a hand. Kouki handed it over with a smirk before he started to leave the room.

"There's a shower behind that door," he pointed to the door that was next to the wardrobe. "I'll swing by in fifteen minutes.

"Damn you Kouki," Mugetsu cursed as the noble exited the room. Taking the kimono with him, Mugetsu walked across the room and slid open the bathroom door.

* * *

><p>Kouki's Zanpakuto:<p>

"Blind, Reddomisuto (Red mist)

Wasn't sure whether Mugetsu should've used sensei or sama to refer to Byakuya, so sorry if I got it wrong :P

Next Time: Trials and…A Mountain of work?


End file.
